Highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is taking a heavy toll across North America as another surge of outbreaks occurs as wild birds are migrating south.
There have been 123 outbreaks in Canada, 39 of them since the fall migration began. Most of the current quarantine zones are in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba; there are two in Ontario.
But in the United States, HPAI has infected 497 commercial and backyard flocks in 41 states, affecting 47.07 million birds, reports the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Data released this week from overseas show the largest avian flu epidemic in Europe ever. A total of 2,467 outbreaks have been reported in poultry, with 48 million birds culled in the affected establishments, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
“The geographical extent of the outbreak is unprecedented, ranging from Svalbard Islands to South Portugal and eastern to Ukraine, affecting 37 European countries,” the organization reported Monday.
