Food industry adjusting to large outbreak of avian flu in Canada, around the world

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says the food industry is making adjustments to maintain supplies of poultry and eggs in the face of a large outbreak of avian flu in Canada and around the world.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says this has been an unprecedented year globally for avian flu, or bird flu as it's also known.

Outbreaks of the highly pathogenic strain H5N1 have been detected in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Alberta since late 2021.

So far, about 260,000 birds have been euthanized or killed by the virus in Canada. Approximately 166,000 of those were in Alberta and 84,000 were in Ontario.

While most forms of avian flu are mild, H5N1 can cause serious disease and death in birds.