Canada faces some trade restrictions on poultry due to bird flu found in Nova Scotia

Canada’s food safety watchdog says the discovery of avian influenza in a commercial poultry flock in Nova Scotia has resulted in international trade restrictions on some Canadian poultry products.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the outbreak of high pathogenic H5N1 was reported last week to the World Organization for Animal Health.

The agency says in a news release on Wednesday that the detection has resulted in Canada’s animal health status being changed to say it is not free from avian influenza.

South Korea and the Philippines have imposed restrictions on poultry products from all of Canada including live poultry, poultry meat and edible eggs.

The United States, European Union, Taiwan, Mexico, Japan and Hong Kong have imposed restrictions on some products from Nova Scotia, or from the specific area of the province affected by the bird flu outbreak.

Russia has imposed restrictions on poultry from both Nova Scotia and on Newfoundland and Labrador, where bird flu was also detected in January and December.

The CFIA has not specified the type of birds affected by the pathogen in the Nova Scotia flock.

The agency has said that avian influenza circulates naturally in birds and can affect food-producing birds including chickens, turkeys, quails, and guinea fowl, as well as pet and wild birds.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza can cause severe illness and death in birds.