The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says seven poultry farms in southwestern Ontario are under quarantine due to an avian flu outbreak.
These include four farms near Ingersoll, two in Strathroy and one in North Middlesex County. The first cases were detected on Dec. 14, 2024, and officials say the virus was transmitted to the area through migratory birds.
“The source is generally migratory birds, so it’s usually spread through direct contact with wild birds or indirectly through fecal matter or contaminated water, soil or feed,” said Grant Loney, incident commander for the Ontario Avian Influenza Response.
Loney said that a 10-kilometre control zone should be placed around the quarantined facilities to ensure that any poultry or byproducts exposed to birds moving in and out of the zone are tested regularly.
“It reduces the spread, and there are also export requirements, so we set these zones up to continue to allow trade from country to country,” he said.
WATCH | Concerns about the spread of avian flu:
A housecat has died in the United States after eating raw pet food and contracting H5N1 bird flu. Epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos tells CBC News the risk of any individual pet getting avian flu is still low, but what is concerning is the easier it becomes for it to infect different types of animals, ‘the easier it will ultimately become for this virus to infect humans.’
Loney said CFIA is notified of potential viruses by farmers if they notice abnormalities or a higher number of deaths among their birds, after which the facilities are placed under quarantine until the cause of excessive mortality is determined.
The process to lift the quarantine involves a strict set of criteria, including the euthanization of sick birds and rigorously disinfecting the premises. After this, there must be a 21-day period without any new infections in the zone before the quarantine is removed, said Loney.
“There’s a long process to remove the quarantine. There’s not a set amount of time that a zone is up, but on average, it’s a couple-month-long process for a zone to be lifted,” he said.
11 million birds have been infected nationally since 2021
CFIA’s website states that the seven avian flu cases have impacted more than one million birds in Ontario as of Jan. 6, but Loney said the province is doing relatively well in reducing the risk compared to previous years.
Loney said Canada has been experiencing an avian influenza outbreak since December 2021 and estimates nearly 11 million domestic birds across the country have been infected since then.
British Columbia has dealt with the brunt of these outbreaks, making up 64 of the active ongoing cases. Last week, a letter signed by Canadian health officials said a 13-year-old girl from B.C., who tested positive for avian flu in November, was taken off supplemental oxygen and is no longer infectious. The source of her exposure has not yet been determined.
A U.S. company also recalled one of its pet food products that were sold in B.C. last week after a house cat in the U.S. died of H5N1 avian influenza.
Loney said there is always the risk of the disease being transmitted as long as infected birds can fly in and out of the region, adding that the industry is doing its best to reduce risks.
“I think as a whole the industry is doing a great job in the biosecurity of the barns, making sure there is no cross-contamination and reducing that risk from migratory birds, in conjunction with the food inspection agency,” he said.
“The risk is going to be there as long as the virus circulates within the migratory bird population, but as long as proper biosecurity is followed, relative to how many poultry producers there are, especially within southwestern Ontario, we’re in a good place.”
CFIA’s website has a mapping tool that can locate primary control zones using an address or postal code.