H5N5 Avian Flu Detected in Canadian Poultry Flock, UK Seals

By Lisa Schnirring

Highly pathogenic H5N5 avian flu has been detected in a backyard poultry flock in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to information submitted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), as well as in UK seals.

The poultry outbreak at Gander Bay began on January 15 and killed all 34 birds at the location. Tests at the CFIA National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease confirmed H5N5 and found that the virus is similar to European-like viruses that came to Canada by the Atlantic flyway. The viruses have fully European H5N5 genome segments.

Canada has previously reported H5N5 in wild birds and mammals, including wild raccoons found dead on Prince Edward Island in May 2023. The pace of H5N5 detections in Europe has picked up, including a recent detection in a cat in Iceland. 

Gray seals infected near Norfolk in the UK

In other H5N5 developments, the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs today confirmed the detection of H5N5 in two grey seals found near Norfolk. The United Kingdom is among six countries that have reported H5N5 in birds and mammals since the first of the year, which, alongside Canada and Iceland, also includes Norway, Greenland, and Germany, according to Avian Flu Diary, an infectious disease news blog.

WOAH has warned of unprecedented genetic variability in avian flu subtypes in wild birds and poultry across the world, creating epidemiologic challenges.