Manitoba has seen seven times more bird flu cases in the space of a month than the rest of 2022 combined.
From Sept. 14 to Oct. 12, 15 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) were confirmed on Manitoba poultry farms, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported.
Why it matters: Migratory birds are considered the most common source of bird flu infection on farms. With fall migration heating up, so is the risk of exposure in the feather sector.
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Manitoba skirted North America’s HPAI problems earlier in the year. On April 23, a commercial flock near Elma, Man., was the province’s first positive case, one among a flurry of more serious outbreaks in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the United States.
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By April 25, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had estimated almost 31.7 million American farm birds had been infected, and the CFIA confirmed 35 infected sites nationwide as of April 21.
Cases in other provinces mounted over the next month. As of June 1, HPAI had found its way onto 13 farms in Saskatchewan, 29 in Alberta and 26 in Ontario. Cases fell to a trickle once summer set in.
Meanwhile, Manitoba lingered with a single positive case.
Two small-flock cases in the RM of Harrison Park (western Manitoba) and RM of Louise (west-central Manitoba) broke that record in late June.
On Sep. 14, the streak ran out.
HPAI was reported in a commercial flock in the RM of Cartier. Days later, another barn in the same municipality also broke. Over the next weeks, Manitoba’s case count grew to include five cases in the RM of Bifrost-Riverton, six in the RM of Ste. Anne and one each in the RMs of Rockwood and De Salaberry.
With the exception of the one farm in the RM of Rockwood, all were found in commercial flocks. That has ramped up the number of birds lost in the province. As of Oct. 13, about 230,000 birds had been impacted, the CFIA said.
“It is believed that the cases are associated with the virus being introduced into barns from direct or indirect [environmental] contact with the virus being carried by wild migratory birds,” an agency spokesperson said.
Fourteen primary control zones (PCZs) have been established around infected farms. The zones require a CFIA permit for anyone moving poultry or poultry products into, out of, around or through the region. Type of permit and associated requirements depend on product type or destination.
“General permits are used for lower risk movements, for example moving unwashed or ungraded table eggs from outside of the PCZ into the restricted zone inside a PCZ,” the CFIA spokesperson said.
Specific permits may be required when shipping live birds out of the zone, and might involve pre-movement testing, dead stock surveillance or biosecurity monitoring.
On Oct. 11, the CFIA announced new movement requirements within that two-tiered system.
Cory Rybuck, general manager of the Manitoba Egg Farmers, said his organization has been fielding calls from producers looking for clarification on the permit requirements.
“We and the other feather boards and, I think, the CFIA have become more efficient in triaging the permits,” he said. “I think there were a few lessons learned from the spring…Farmers, industry, commodity boards, governments have pulled together to make this as streamlined as possible.
“I mean, it’s still paperwork, but that’s what’s necessary to keep the industry moving and to mitigate any potential spread.”
Wayne Hiltz, executive director of the Manitoba Chicken Producers, said there have been no delays so far, “and permits have been issued in time for the required movements and feed deliveries.”
Biosecurity
The CFIA is emphasizing barn biosecurity and prevention measures in the face of the new cases.
It’s a call echoed by industry.
“Keep taking the extra measures to make sure that the spread is contained,” Rybuck urged. “That’s all about biosecurity, changing footwear, limiting visitors to the barn, monitoring flock health, that kind of thing.”
Hiltz echoed calls for caution.
“While it is easy to understand a viral vector from wild waterfowl to outdoor domestic flocks, identifying the vector with indoor commercial flocks is not always so straightforward,” he said. “Producers can do everything right to the highest standards and somehow there can still be transmission. That said, by doing everything right, we greatly reduce the risk.”
The larger picture
New cases in Manitoba match a general increase of outbreaks in Canada and the U.S.
Almost six million birds were impacted in the U.S. in September, according to the USDA. About 610,000 birds were impacted the month before, and about half a million in July.
In Canada, 77 premises were actively infected as of Oct. 12, according to the CFIA. In total, more than 3.1 million Canadian farm birds have been impacted since the start of the outbreaks. Alberta has been worst hit, with 1.3 million birds impacted as of Oct. 12. Saskatchewan has also reported its first cases since May.
