On February 3rd, authorities in Nova Scotia confirmed an outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza on a commercial turkey farm housing 11,800 birds. According to the ProMed report 98 percent mortality was recorded in 5,900 nine-week turkeys and six percent losses in a flock of similar size aged three weeks. The CFIA National Center for Foreign Animal Disease confirmed the virus to be an H5N1 strain similar to isolates obtained from free-living birds in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and more recently in the Province of Nova Scotia. The HA segment corresponded to the A/goose/Guangdong/1996 lineage belonging to 2.3.4.4 B clade and common with the Eurasian lineage currently circulating in Europe.
The flock was depleted and appropriate protection and surveillance zones established around the affected farm. Wild bird surveys are in progress.
The farm is located in western Nova Scotia midway between Windsor and Greenwood and approximately 20 miles from the coast adjoining the Bay of Fundy near Cambridge.