Avian flu hits B.C. commercial flock in Chilliwack

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed avian influenza at a commercial poultry farm in Chilliwack, B.C., the first detection in a commercial flock in the province this season.

The agency said the infection was detected Friday. The Canadian Press reported it is the first case among domestic birds the agency has announced in B.C. since February. The CFIA lists the site as premises BC-IP280, under quarantine, with the status of its primary control zone still to be determined.

Our count from the CFIA’s public investigations and orders list shows 27 infected premises detected across Canada since Sept. 10. Alberta and Manitoba account for 12 each, including 16 commercial flocks between them. Ontario and Quebec have one each, and the Chilliwack farm is B.C.’s first. The Prairies remain the centre of this season’s outbreak.

The Canadian Press reported the first detection of the season in Ontario came last week and that Quebec’s first was announced Thursday. The Quebec case is on Ile d’Orleans, where the CFIA has declared a primary control zone.

British Columbia has been hit hardest by avian flu since late 2021. The province accounts for more than 10 million of the 18 million birds that have died or been culled across the country, The Canadian Press reported.

The CFIA says H5 avian flu is not a food safety concern and there is no evidence that eating cooked poultry or eggs can transmit the virus to humans. Infections usually lead to the quarantine of the farm and the slaughter of the flock. Human cases are rare, but a B.C. teenager became seriously ill in 2024 and recovered, The Canadian Press reported.

Anyone who keeps birds is asked to follow biosecurity practices, according to the agency. Our earlier reporting looked at how few of the bird flu vaccine doses the federal government bought reached the provinces and at the Universal Ostrich Farms lawsuit over the 2025 cull.

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Sources: Canadian Food Inspection Agency investigations and orders list, updated Nov. 6, 2026; The Canadian Press, Nov. 6, 2026.