On Thursday the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed a fifth case of type H5 avian influenza in the Eastern Townships, east of Montreal.
For the second time in five days, a poultry farm in the Regional County Municipality (MRC) Les Sources is affected.
Producer Canards du Lac Brome confirmed Friday that the new site is another one of its farms -- that of Saint-Georges-de-Windsor, which brings the company's total affected sites to four.
The company, which is one of the largest duck producers in Canada, announced on Wednesday that it had to cull 150,000 birds and lay off nearly 300 employees. It estimates that it will likely take six to 12 months and large sums of money to fully restore operations.
On Thursday, Premier François Legault said his government was ready to provide assistance to Canards du Lac Brome.
Between April 12 and 14, poultry farms in the Brome-Missisquoi, Haut-Saint-François and Val-Saint-François MRCs were affected.
The CFIA says it wants to assure the public that the infected sites have been quarantined and that it has established movement control measures. It has recommended that other farms in the region increase biosecurity measures.
The agency has also established primary control zones in areas where the disease has been detected to prevent the spread of the flu, which is highly pathogenic.
According to veterinarian Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt of the University of Montreal, the type of bird flu found in the Eastern Townships is highly infectious, representing the highest-risk strain ever to confront Quebec farmers.
The virus is both stronger and more contagious than other strains, which means that it circulates more, according to the vet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 22, 2022.
