Bird flu remains a persistent and potentially growing threat in Canada.
“The status of H5N1 in Canada is that the virus is here,” says Dr. Angela Rasmussen, virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan. “It’s certainly circulating in wild birds. We’ve seen a number of sporadic, but increasing, poultry outbreaks at chicken and turkey farms.”
With the return of migratory birds, the risk of new infections rises.
“There’s no evidence so far that H5N1 is infecting Canadian cows, so that’s good,” she says. “But, with spring migration, they bring the prospect of potentially new poultry outbreaks.”
RELATED: Canada Buys 500k Bird Flu Vaccines to Protect At-Risk IndividualsÂ
In the United States, bird flu continues to spread in various animals, including poultry and dairy cows, and multiple viral mutations have already emerged, some of which could increase transmission risk among humans.
As bird flu spreads through wild flocks south of the border, Canada’s agriculture sector remains on edge, watching, waiting, and hoping to stay one step ahead of the virus.
