Avian flu outbreak on Quebec poultry farm

A poultry farm in the Saint-Jean-de-Matha, in Quebec’s Lanaudière region, is dealing with an avian flu outbreak. It was first detected on Jan. 31

A primary control zone has been established around the area to limit the risk of avian influenza spreading.

“This is not something that people in the public will normally get, but for growers, it’s something to worry about,” said Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt, with the Research Centre on Swine & Poultry Infectiology at the Université de Montréal.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says there is no evidence to suggest that eating cooked poultry or eggs could transmit the virus to humans.

The CFIA is taking this contamination very seriously as it is highly unusual to see an outbreak of avian influenza at this time of year.

An investigation has been launched by the CFIA to try to understand where the infection originated.

“This is something we never had before in Canada to have several years with highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks coast to coast, because that’s pretty much what’s going on with most of the cases being in British Columbia,” said Vaillancourt.

This outbreak marks the first in Quebec of the virus this year after avian flu started being detected in wild birds in Quebec in April 2022.

The CIFA detected two cases of avian flu on Quebec poultry farms last November — noting that there have been 58 locations of the virus detected in the province, with 1,465,500 birds impacted, according to the CFIA.

“What we know is that the strain of H5N1 that’s involved in Quebec is the one that we have in British Columbia. It’s been moving east over the past several months,” Vaillancourt explained.

British Columbia has recorded 220 locations with more than eight million birds infected, as well as the first-ever case of the virus being detected in a human in Canada.

In the United States, 70 cases have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including 24 in poultry farms. And last month, the U.S. recorded it’s first death of a human infected after a case in Louisiana.

“There’s some concern for the public. It’s not as if we are thinking that we’re going to have a pandemic or epidemic situation in humans. But what we know is that the environment in Canada pretty much coast to coast is contaminated,” said Vaillancourt.

Sylvain Charlebois of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia says Canadians should not worry about rising costs compared to the U.S. – as U.S. egg prices have reached unprecedented levels.

“Depending on where you are in the country, we are expecting higher than average prices, higher than average increases in markets like BC, for example, Ontario and potentially in Quebec, depending on how Quebec is going to be impacted by the avian flu overall,” Charlebois explained.

Charlebois says prices can be expected to rise minimally around 6-10 per cent compared to the U.S. which he says is seeing an 80 per cent increase. 

“People shouldn’t be concerned if you’re buying a dozen eggs at the grocery store. It is not contaminated by the avian flu and you won’t contract the avian flu as a result of buying those eggs at all,” said Charlebois.

Vaillancourt adding, “In Canada and in Quebec. We have just this particular outbreak. It doesn’t have an impact on the food chain. Eggs are not a source of the virus and whatever poultry you will purchase at the grocery store would not have the virus per se.”

The CFIA is asking anyone who suspects their birds have avian influenza, to report it to the CFIA. They remind the public that the virus continues to spread across the globe, and that anyone with birds must practice enhanced biosecurity procedures.

Last week, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced the purchase of half a million doses of GSK’s human vaccine against avian influenza to be used to protect people who are at a higher risk of being exposed.

You can track where avian influenza has been detected on the CFIA website.