Avian flu outbreak leads to quarantine of seven poultry farms in southwestern Ontario

Seven poultry farms in southwestern Ontario are currently under quarantine due to an avian flu outbreak.

The premises under quarantine include four in Oxford County, two in Strathroy and one in North Middlesex, which are all located near London.

Brian Stevens a pathologist at the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, which monitors disease in wildlife, believes the virus behind this outbreak could have been brought into the area from water fowl like mallards or ducks.

Outbreaks of avian flu have been popping up in North America since it was detected in Canada in 2021, Stevens told the Star, and according to Environment and Climate Change Canada, it has since been detected in every province and territory.

“It’s just been circulating in the wild bird population and it’s just been moving where the birds move,” said Stevens.

As of Dec. 27, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) estimated more than 1 million birds had been impacted by avian flu in Ontario, and more than 15 million nationally.

How does avian flu spread?
There are two types of avian influenza, highly pathogenic avian flu and low pathogenic avian flu. The highly pathogenic type is behind the current outbreaks and it will often “make (birds) very sick and kill them,” Stevens explained.