On a Friday in early November, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed H5 avian flu in a commercial poultry flock in Chilliwack, British Columbia, ending a long quiet stretch for the province. It is a familiar visitor, one that has moved across the country since mid-September and has already reached Ontario and Quebec. A province that has borne the heaviest losses since 2021 now waits to learn whether this single farm is the start of another season of loss, or an isolated arrival.
Avian flu detected at Chilliwack poultry facility, first B.C. commercial case this season
One infection usually means quarantine and the slaughter of the whole flock.
Mark
Why does one case in Chilliwack matter when the agency says it's not a food safety issue?
Mimi
Because the concern is the birds and the farms. This disease spreads fast, so one infection usually means quarantine and the slaughter of the whole flock.
Mark
And it's the first in B.C. this season?
Mimi
The first in a commercial flock, yes. The last domestic-bird case the agency announced in B.C. was in February.
Luke
Worth noting what we don't know. The report doesn't say how many birds are on the Chilliwack farm or what's been done there yet.
Mark
Is this part of a bigger pattern?
Mimi
It looks like it. Infections have moved across the Prairies since mid-September, Ontario had its first last week, and Quebec announced one Thursday.
Luke
Careful, though. Those are separate announcements. The report doesn't say they're linked or how the virus reached Chilliwack.
Mark
Why does B.C. get singled out?
Mimi
Since late 2021 it has had more than 10 million of the 18 million birds that died or were culled nationwide.
Luke
And the human risk is real but small. Cases are rare; the one cited is a teenager in 2024 who became seriously ill and recovered.
Il Polso
- A highly contagious H5 avian flu has surfaced on a commercial farm in Chilliwack, B.C.'s first such case this season.
- Quarantine and culling loom over the flock, the standard response once the virus takes hold on a farm.
- Ontario and Quebec have already reported their own first cases, so the disease is spreading across provinces in a widening front.
- The agency insists the strain poses no food safety risk, but the coming weeks will reveal whether more B.C. farms fall to it.
On a Friday in early November, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed H5 avian flu in a commercial poultry flock in Chilliwack, British Columbia, ending a long quiet stretch for the province. It is a familiar visitor, one that has moved across the country since mid-September and has already reached Ontario and Quebec. A province that has borne the heaviest losses since 2021 now waits to learn whether this single farm is the start of another season of loss, or an isolated arrival.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed avian flu in a commercial poultry flock in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The infection was found on Friday, and it is the first such case in a commercial flock in the province this season.
The detection breaks a calm that had lasted since February. Across the Prairies the virus has been spreading since mid-September, and now it has reached the east as well, with Ontario and Quebec reporting their first cases in recent days.
British Columbia has known this disease more intimately than any other province. Since late 2021 it has absorbed more than 10 million of the 18 million birds lost nationally. The agency stresses that the virus is not a food safety concern, but its speed among birds means an infected farm is usually quarantined and its flock destroyed. The size of the Chilliwack flock has not been disclosed.
Human infections are rare, though B.C. has seen one: a teenage girl in 2024 fell gravely ill before recovering. The open question now is whether Chilliwack remains a lone case or becomes the first of many in the province.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed avian flu in a commercial poultry flock in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The infection was detected on Friday. It is the first such case in a commercial flock in the province this season.
The announcement ends a quiet stretch for B.C. The agency had not announced a case among domestic birds in the province since February. Elsewhere in the country the virus has been moving for weeks: infections have been working their way across the Prairies since mid-September.
The pattern is now visible in the east as well. Ontario recorded its first detection of the season last week, and Quebec announced its first case on Thursday. Chilliwack's case follows one day after Quebec's.
British Columbia knows this disease better than any other province. Since late 2021, waves of avian influenza have hit it harder than anywhere else in Canada. Of the 18 million birds that have died or been culled across the country in that time, more than 10 million were in B.C.
The agency says the H5 avian flu is not a food safety concern. The trouble is how quickly it spreads among birds. For that reason, an infection on a farm typically means the farm is quarantined and the flock is slaughtered. The source does not say how large the Chilliwack flock is or what has been done there so far.
Human cases are rare, but they have happened in the province. In 2024, a teenage girl in B.C. became infected and fell seriously ill before recovering.
What to watch now is whether Chilliwack stays a single detection or becomes the first of several in B.C. this season, as other provinces continue to report their own first cases.
Citazioni salienti
H5 avian flu is not a food safety concern, but it can spread fast, so infected farms are typically quarantined and flocks slaughtered.— Canadian Food Inspection Agency (paraphrased)
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