Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says the food industry is making adjustments to maintain supplies of poultry and eggs in the face of a large outbreak of avian flu in Canada and around the world.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says this has been an unprecedented year globally for avian flu, or bird flu as itB次元官网网址檚 also known.

Outbreaks of the highly pathogenic strain H5N1 have been detected in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Alberta since late 2021.

So far, about 260,000 birds have been euthanized or killed by the virus in Canada. Approximately 166,000 of those were in Alberta and 84,000 were in Ontario.

While most forms of avian flu are mild, H5N1 can cause serious disease and death in birds.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says there are lots of factors driving up the cost of food so itB次元官网网址檚 difficult to find a direct link between high costs for eggs and poultry and the virus, but the agency is watching closely.

B次元官网网址淧oultry and egg production in Canada are supply managed and there are mechanisms in place that modelling boards can deploy to give them the flexibility to adjust to the kind of disruption that we are talking right now,B次元官网网址� said Donald Boucher, director general of sector development with Agri-Food Canada.

B次元官网网址淲e know that some of those measures have been implemented as well, in the context of the current (avian influenza) outbreak.B次元官网网址�

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency believes migratory birds are responsible for CanadaB次元官网网址檚 25 outbreaks, and expects there will be more cases as flocks continue to fly north for the summer. So far, there has been no evidence of farm-to-farm transmission.

B次元官网网址淚 think this is, in more recent memory, one of the larger number of cases in multiple provinces of avian influenza and the first time that weB次元官网网址檝e had H5N1,B次元官网网址� said Dr. Mary Jane Ireland, chief veterinary officer.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has set up control zones in areas with active outbreaks in Ontario and Alberta to quarantine infected animals and limit the movement of goods and livestock in and out of the affected areas.

ItB次元官网网址檚 a stressful experience for farmers and small flock owners, Ireland said, particularly because of the impact on their livelihoods.

She said the agency is preparing to respond to further detections in anticipation of further outbreaks.

No human cases have been detected in Canada, and avian influenza is not a significant public health concern for healthy people who are not in regular contact with infected birds.

B次元官网网址擫aura Osman, The Canadian Press