Avian flu found on 5 commercial poultry farms in Manitoba, culling now underway

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says avian influenza has been found in five commercial poultry flocks in Manitoba, the first cases detected since the beginning of May.

Now birds are being killed in the fields. The CFIA did not say how many people were affected or specify the type of poultry infected.

Chickens are the most common type of rearing, but poultry also includes turkeys, geese, and ducks.

Avian influenza (also known as bird flu) Is highly pathogenic in birds and can cause serious illness and death. The CFIA said it spreads naturally in wild birds and waterfowl and is spread by migratory birds.

All five of Manitoba’s cases were discovered in October, with the first case found at a farm on October 9. Just south of Ste. Rose du Lac is a town about 210 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg, A says Report posted online by CFIA,

Second case came to light in the next day Rural Municipality of Bifröst-Riverton in Interlake, near Washoe Bay, about 140 km north of Winnipeg.,

The next three – October 16, 21 and 25 – were all in R.Ural Municipality of Hanover, southeast of Winnipeg. Two are in the area between Bloemenoort and Steinbach, and the third is close to New Bothwell.

A spokesperson for the RM of Hanover said the municipality had not been given any details about where Virus found.

CFIA said will form Remain under restrictions until cleaning and disinfection is completedThis will be followed by a 14-day “blank period” in which domestic birds cannot be reintroduced to the farm.

Owners can apply for compensation for animals that have been ordered to be destroyed.

There is a subtype of avian influenza, H5N1, which primarily infects birds but has also been identified in other animals and causes “rare and sporadic” infections in humans. CFIA says,

While the risk remains relatively low in humans, Canada’s first human case Of H5N1 It was diagnosed in a teenager in British Columbia in November 2024.

Human cases usually occur in people who have close contact with infected animals, such as farm workers.

Bird flu was first detected in Canada in December 2021 in wild birds in Newfoundland and Labrador. Since then, it has been found in wild birds and poultry in all Canadian jurisdictions.

The first cases were confirmed in Manitoba. A commercial poultry flock and in wild bird In April 2022.

That year, 21 cases were found, four of which were in wild birds and 17 in commercial farms.

biosecurity measures Preventing exposure to flocks and monitoring sick wild birds has since helped reduce the number of cases, the CFIA said.