Current disease alerts and events
Last updated on February 13, 2024On this page:
Highly pathogenic avian influenza
Avian influenza (AI), commonly known as "bird flu", is a contagious viral infection that can affect several species of food producing birds as well as pet birds and wild birds. British Columbia has been experiencing repeated outbreaks of highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in poultry (a form of the virus that causes serious illness and death) since the virus was first introduced into the province in April 2022. This same virus is circulating throughout North America and causing outbreaks in other provinces and states.
More information on the ministry response to AI can be found here Avian influenza (AI) - Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca)
AI is a federally-related disease and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) leads the response. See the CFIA website for more information on the status of ongoing AI outbreaks and response by province.
BC wildlife HPAI dashboard
Migratory wild birds, particularly waterfowl species, are the main source of HPAI for poultry. The BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food conducts surveillance for HPAI in wild birds to assess the risk of infection in domestic poultry. Although relatively infrequent, AI can also cross the species barrier and infect mammals. The current surveillance program detects HPAI viruses by collecting and testing wild birds and mammals that are found dead on the landscape as well as environmental samples. The results of this program are summarized in the dashboard below.
View BC Wildlife HPAI dashboard
Note: HPAI H5 detections include both samples that have been confirmed as HPAI H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b through sequencing or are presumed to be HPAI H5 the basis of a positive H5 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal infection that affects species in the deer family (cervids) such as mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, moose and caribou. CWD is not a naturally occurring disease and can lead to declines in cervid populations. There is no vaccine or treatment and the disease is always fatal.
BC’s first detection of CWD was confirmed in the Kootenay region in January 2024. In accordance with the Surveillance and Response Plan for CWD in B.C., the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship is the lead agency on CWD management. As part of the response, B.C.’s Chief Veterinarian has put orders in place to reduce risk of dissemination of infected materials by human activity, in order to reduce risk of disease spread to non-infected cervid populations.
General orders
Cervids found dead in areas of southeast BC must be submitted for CWD testing and require special disposal
Effective February 13th, 2024, the Chief Veterinarian issued General Order CWD2024-001 (PDF, 255 KB).
All persons who collect found dead cervids, or parts of found dead cervids (including deer, elk, moose, and caribou) (“Collected Cervids”), in Wildlife Management Units 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5 and that portion of Wildlife Management Unit 4-22 inclusive of Highway 3 and the area south of Highway 3 (“the Area”) must take the following actions, and must comply with the following prohibitions:
- Samples from any Collected Cervid originating within the Area must be submitted to a government testing site or drop-off location for testing in accordance with Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance and Testing - Province of British Columbia (gov.bc.ca).
- The remaining, untested portions of any Collected Cervid originating from within the Area must not be removed from the Area or used for any purpose, and may only be either:
- transported to a Designated Disposal Site (defined below) for disposal, or
- held in a secure, leak-proof storage container until testing is complete and the result is confirmed negative for the presence of CWD.
- Portions of any Collected Cervid which tests positive for CWD must be held in a secure, leak-proof storage container until further instructions are received from the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship.
Each of the following is a “Designated Disposal Site”:
- Cranbrook Regional District landfill;
- Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure secure disposal facilities; or
- The government collection site at 205 Industrial Road G, Cranbrook BC