WELLINGTON COUNTY – A domestic bird in Wellington County has tested positive for avian influenza, according to a Feb. 21 notification from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
That notification stated that CFIA detected a “non-commercial, non-poultry” case of avian influenza in Wellington County.
A CFIA spokesperson later told the Advertiser the agency received positive results for H5 avian inflenza from a backyard flock of chickens, geese, turkey, peacocks and ducks.
The flock “didn’t fall under the [World Organization for Animal Health] definition of poultry,” CFIA officials state.
The CFIA would not disclose in which township or town avian influenza was detected due to confidentiality and privacy considerations, it stated.
“In this case, we can only share that the [inflected premises] is located in Wellington County.”
The CFIA is reporting 10 other currently infected premises and 49 previously infected premises in Ontario, with more than a million birds impacted.
It is reporting 30 currently infected premises in Canada and 497 previously infected premises, impacting about 14.5 million birds.
“Avian influenza is not a food safety concern. There is no evidence to suggest that eating cooked poultry or eggs could transmit the virus to humans,” the CFIA states on its website.
The CFIA recommends that anyone keeping poultry implement biosecurity principles to reduce the spread of avian influenza and other diseases. This includes assessing risks, developing a plan, implementing biosecurity measures/procedures and monitoring and recording flock health.
