Fried foie gras, grilled. (Vichie81/iStock/Getty Images)

French foie gras makers toast rising output after bird flu gloom

Canada, U.S., Japan ban French poultry imports since vaccination

Paris | Reuters — French foie gras output is set to rise for the first time in five years in 2023 as France starts vaccinating ducks against bird flu that has destroyed flocks in recent years, but trade bans that followed will weigh on exports, producers said on Thursday. France has been among the countries […] Read more


File photo of ducks on a farm at Gironde in southwestern France. (Esperanza33/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada puts temporary ban on France’s poultry, eggs

CFIA move to 'manage the risk' from bird flu vaccination plan

Imports of live birds and unprocessed poultry and eggs from France are barred from Canada effective Sunday (Oct. 1), pending a risk assessment of France’s duck vaccination program for avian flu. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced the temporary ban Tuesday, following France’s move to require mandatory vaccination against highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) […] Read more

File photo of young birds on a Canadian broiler operation. (Elena Bionysheva-Abramova/iStock/Getty Images)

High-path avian flu pops back up in Saskatchewan, Alberta

Canada keeps sights on 'country-level freedom' from virus

Even after 21 months of highly pathogenic avian influenza cases in Canada — including three new cases in domestic birds so far this month — Canada’s “stamping out” policy for the virus remains in effect. Canada’s active caseload of the virus now comes down to just eight of the 325 premises affected since December 2021. […] Read more


Turkeys. (Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Canada books first month in 19 without bird flu outbreak

Eight commercial poultry farms remain active sites

June 2023 appears set to be Canada’s first month without a new highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak in poultry or other domesticated birds since the disease returned to this country in late 2021. Canada has booked 322 outbreaks in domestic birds in the past 19 months, of which 31 were detected so far in 2023. […] Read more

File photo of chicks on a genetic map of a chicken. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Scientists isolate human gene able to fend off most bird flu viruses

Finding may show which bird flu strains have human pandemic potential

London | Reuters — U.K. researchers have homed in on a human gene implicated in thwarting most bird flu viruses from infecting people. Bird flu chiefly spreads among wild birds such as ducks and gulls and can also infect farmed birds and domestic poultry such as chickens, turkeys and quails. Although the viruses largely affect […] Read more


(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. working on limited bird flu vaccination for turkeys

No decision yet made, U.S. official says

Paris | Reuters — The United States is working on a bird flu vaccination scenario focusing on turkeys in the few states that gather the largest number of turkey farms, a move that would best meet a benefit-cost strategy, its chief veterinary officer said on Tuesday. However, no decision to vaccinate has yet been made, […] Read more

A macrophage (immune response) cell in early stages of infection with African swine fever virus, magnified about 1,000x. (Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

MPs get assurance on Canada’s biosecurity preparedness

Canada well prepared for foreign animal diseases, officials say

Officials from several federal agencies have reassured the public about Canada’s animal biosecurity preparedness. Witnesses from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spoke to MPs’ concerns about livestock diseases at a committee meeting last Wednesday afternoon. Biosecurity preparedness has been a relevant issue […] Read more