Avian influenza found at Manitoba farm

Chickens are seen at a poultry farm in Abbotsford, B.C., on Thursday, November 10, 2022. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has found a strain of avian flu at a Manitoba poultry farm.

The CFIA confirmed H5N1 was found in a flock at a poultry farm in the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie, and a control order has been in effect since Nov. 28.

“Cleaning and disinfection (C&D) is performed to ensure the site does not pose a risk for the transmission of a federally reportable disease,” the CFIA said in a statement. “The C&D includes areas that animals have occupied, materials, equipment and other items identified as contaminated.”

Avian flu was previously detected 23 times in Manitoba between 2022 and 2023.

The strain of avian flu has been circulating among farm animals in the United States and Canada in the past year. Virologists are concerned about the potential of the virus spreading from animals to humans.

H5N1 has already been detected in poultry at multiple properties in British Columbia and was also found in a teenager in the province last month. No additional cases or transmission have been detected in British Columbia.