1 year later: North American avian flu outbreak timeline
It has been exactly one year since the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed in North America, leading to an outbreak of proportions that probably none of us could have foreseen.
It is also not likely that the outbreak would persist and last at least a year, despite outstanding biosecurity efforts by the US and Canadian poultry industries.
The first confirmed case occurred in one of the northeasternmost areas of the continent and spread not only south via the Pacific Flyway, but also west, crossing all North American flyways.
As the virus has spread, here are important dates and events related to last year’s HPAI outbreak:
The first few months
December 20, 2021 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced that the virus was confirmed at a show farm in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
January 9, 2022 – CFIA reports a second HPAI case in Newfoundland and Labrador, proving that the first discovery was not an isolated case
January 14 – The first case of HPAI in the United States in 2022, albeit in a wild bird, is confirmed. A highly pathogenic Eurasian H5 variant of avian influenza is discovered in a wild American wigeon.
January 18th – North Carolina is the second US state with a confirmed case, with this case involving a blue-winged teal in Hyde County.
February 1st – Nova Scotia became the second Canadian province with a confirmed case after a wild goose in the Grand Desert area of Halifax tested positive.
3 February – The first case of HPAI in a North American commercial poultry flock is confirmed in a commercial turkey flock in western Nova Scotia.
February 9th – A commercial turkey farm in DuBois County, Indiana, becomes the first confirmed case of HPAI in a US commercial herd during the outbreak. This is also the first confirmed case on the Mississippi Flyway.
14th of February – HPAI reaches commercial poultry in second state Kentucky. This is also the first case of the year in a commercial broiler flock on the continent.
February 23 – First HPAI case in commercial layer flock is confirmed in New Castle County, Delaware. It was also the first flock of more than 1 million birds to be affected by the virus.
2nd March – The World Organization for Animal Health reports the first case of HPAI in the Pacific Flyway after samples from a dead bald eagle tested positive in Vancouver, British Columbia. The point of introduction appears to be different than the previous North American cases in the East.
6th March – A commercial mixed flock in Charles Mix County, South Dakota, becomes the first confirmed case of HPAI on the Central Flyway. With this case, the virus has now been localized in all four North American flight routes.
27th of March – Ontario is the second Canadian province to have HPAI confirmed in a commercial poultry flock.
April 19th – A commercial broiler breeding flock in Montrose County, Colorado, will become the first commercial operation in the US on the Pacific Flyway that was a confirmed case of HPAI during the outbreak.
20th of April – Federal and provincial wildlife agencies announce that with the presence of HPAI in wild geese and a bald eagle in Manitoba, HPAI has been confirmed in every Canadian province. These cases include a combination of commercial and backyard poultry, as well as wild birds.
April 27th — To ensure APHIS can continue to conduct critical emergency response, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack authorized the transfer of nearly $263 million from Commodity Credit Corporation to APHIS to directly support the response effort.
An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) hit a poultry farm in the Mexican state of Coahuila, which borders the US state of Texas.
April 28th – The first human case of HPAI in the United States is announced by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The patient worked as part of a crew depopulating an infected flock of poultry.
5th of May – HPAI is confirmed in two red fox kits in Ontario, marking the first time the virus has infected mammals in Canada.
slowdown in summer
2th of June – Jim Snee, CEO of Jennie-O Turkey Store’s parent company, Hormel Foods, warns consumers are facing “major supply shortfalls” as a result of the HPAI outbreak.
June 28th – Following a noticeable drop in HPAI cases in North America during the summer, the presence of HPAI is confirmed in a commercial poultry flock in Quebec. With this new case, it’s official that the 2022 outbreak outlasted the 2015 outbreak. The last case of the 2015 outbreak was confirmed on June 16.
July 14th –
The first case of HPAI in US commercial poultry in more than a month has been confirmed in a turkey flock in Sanpete County, Utah. This is the first in a long line of cases in this county.
25.8 –
Applications are available under the USDA’s Emergency Loan Program Minnesota Producers affected by HPAI quarantines set by the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.
7th of September –
Avian flu was first detected in an American whale on September 7 after the virus was confirmed in one Bottlenose Dolphin in Florida.
09/28 – The American Farm Bureau Federation expects record retail turkey prices during Thanksgiving due to the HPAI outbreak.
resurgence in autumn
the 20th of October – The World Organization for Animal Health released a report saying a backyard flock affected by HPAI in September was the country’s first case where the virus was serotype H5N4. All previous cases were of the H5N1 serotype.
11/16 – With the discovery of HPAI on a commercial broiler farm in Tennessee, more than half of US states now have at least one confirmed case on a commercial farm in 2022.
11/24 – The governments of Canada and Ontario, through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, are investing up to $1.5 million to help eligible non-supply managed poultry farms and related agribusinesses increase their biosecurity efforts to curb the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
December 1 – With the discovery of HPAI in a commercial poultry flock in Abbotsford, British Columbia overtakes Alberta as the province with the highest number of cases.
December 8th – Minnesota, the state with the highest number of HPAI cases in farm poultry in 2022, has turned 80th case confirmed.
December 14th – South Dakota, trailing only Minnesota for the number of bird flu cases in 2022, is turning 60th confirmed case.
December 16th –
With the detection of HPAI in a laying hen flock in Weld County, Colorado, at least 300 commercial flocks in the US are affected by the virus, including approximately 55.9 million birds.
Read our ongoing coverage of the global bird flu outbreak.
