Avian flu detected in B.C. poultry flock for first time this season

CHILLIWACK — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced the first detection of avian flu in a commercial poultry flock in British Columbia this season.

The agency says the infection was detected on Friday in Chilliwack.

It’s the first case among domestic birds announced by the agency in B.C. since February, although infections have been making their way across the Prairies since mid-September.

The season’s first detection in Ontario was last week, while the first case in Quebec was announced on Thursday.

British Columbia has been hardest hit by waves of avian influenza since late 2021, with the province accounting for more than 10 million birds that have died or been culled out of 18 million countrywide.

The agency says H5 avian flu is not a food safety concern, but the disease can spread fast, so infections typically result in the quarantine of infected farms and the slaughter of their flocks.

Cases in humans are rare, but in 2024, a teenage girl in B.C. became infected, resulting in serious illness before she recovered.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2026.

The Canadian Press