Proper biosecurity takes a lot of effort, but the avian flu outbreak in the U.S. shows the need for robust measures, Helen Wojcinski said at the Western Poultry Conference.

Lessons learned from the avian flu disaster

The biosecurity do and don’t list is incredibly long, and even reaches into the homes of poultry farm workers

Reading Time: 3 minutes The mood at the Western Poultry Conference was sombre as Helen Wojcinski detailed the carnage of the avian influenza outbreak that tore through the U.S. 17 months ago. More than 10 million turkeys and about 11 per cent of the U.S. layer population lost. More than 220 farms in 15 states hit. Losses of $3 […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Canada blocks poultry, eggs from Indiana

Cross-border travellers coming into Canada from the U.S. are now warned against bringing in raw poultry and eggs from Indiana, the site of the country’s latest cases of avian flu. Travellers entering Canada from the U.S. may not bring in uncooked poultry products, live birds and/or eggs from Indiana, North Dakota or Missouri, the Canadian […] Read more






(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Canada now avian flu-free

With no new cases in poultry since April and no farms in quarantine since July, Canada has officially declared itself free of avian influenza. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Thursday it has informed the World Organization of Animal Health (OIE) that Ontario is free of notifiable avian flu. No new outbreaks of highly pathogenic […] Read more


Many chickens around feeder

Supply management wants the federal government in its corner

Farm Vote: The feds should be supporting supply management, says the chair of Egg Farmers of Alberta

Reading Time: 2 minutes Bird flu hasn’t yet hit Alberta’s poultry industry but it’s a real threat for provincial egg farmers, and one the federal government needs to manage. Avian influenza has killed nearly 50 million chickens and turkeys in the U.S. and hit a handful of Ontario and B.C. operations earlier this year. “We saw what a big […] Read more

(Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Avian flu risk higher with fall migrations

Poultry farmers in Ontario are being warned to keep biosecurity top of mind as wild birds get ready to fly south this fall. “With the fall weather quickly approaching, resulting in colder temperatures and wild bird migrations, the threat of re-emergence of (highly pathogenic avian influenza) is real,” the Feather Board Command Centre, the emergency […] Read more


(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

USDA moves to build vaccine stockpile for bird flu return

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday it has put out a request for proposals to help the nation’s veterinarians have access to bird flu vaccines for poultry this fall, in preparation for the potential return of the fast-spreading avian influenza virus. The agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) […] Read more