On Mar. 2, 2022, British Columbia officials announced it is working to prevent highly pathogenic avian influenza from infecting commercial flocks after a dead bird found in British Columbia was confirmed to have been infected with the European strain H5N1.

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recently confirmed a bald eagle found dead in western Canada tested positive for the illness that has been hitting poultry operations in the Midwest and along the East Coast.

The find in B.C. was the first avian influenza discovering in the Pacific Flyway since 2015, when several outbreaks infected flocks in Washington state.

ODA is working closely with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, other federal partners, neighboring states, and commercial poultry producers to prevent the introduction of HPAI into Oregon’s poultry flocks. ODA is asking for the public’s help in detecting HPAI in backyard flocks.

The efforts come as agriculture departments in the Intermountain West are urging poultry producers to step up biosecurity measures as the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza has so far been confirmed in 16 states including both backyard and commercial flocks with new detections announced every week.