Infectious Diseases 2025

On January 10, 2025, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ordered the culling of the entire flock at Universal Ostrich after two deceased ostriches tested positive for H5N1. The farm has been legally challenging the agency’s decision throughout the spring. Earlier this month, the Federal Court ruled that the CFIA acted reasonably in ordering the cull. The farm’s owners filed an appeal this week. Dr. Oz, an American television physician currently overseeing Medicare under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, has offered to provide sanctuary for the 400 ostriches at his ranch in Florida.
The CFIA stated that its National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease identified the current infection in the ostriches as a “novel reassortment” not previously detected in Canada. This assortment includes the D1.3 genotype, which has been associated with a human infection in a poultry worker in Ohio. According to the CFIA, Universal Ostrich Farm has failed to comply with the requirements outlined in the Health of Animals Act, including the failure to report the initial cases of illness and mortality to the agency, as well as the failure to comply with quarantine orders. As a result, Universal Ostrich Farm was issued two notices of violation, with penalties totaling $20,000. The CFIA also reported that the flock has had multiple laboratory-confirmed cases of H5N1; however, it did not specify when these positive samples were collected. Plans for the depopulation of the entire premises are ongoing.

The decision to cull the ostriches must be guided by scientific evidence - specifically, whether the birds are still shedding the virus into the environment. If viral shedding is ongoing, culling is indeed justified; if not, the measure is unnecessary.

Based on my professional assessment, the likelihood that the ostriches infected in December 2024 are still shedding infectious virus is negligible (1,2). Therefore, there is no scientific justification for culling the ostrich flock.

Reference:

1. Abolnik C, Ostmann E, Woods M, Wandrag DB, Grewar J, Roberts L, Olivier AJ. Experimental infection of ostriches with H7N1 low pathogenic and H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4b highly pathogenic influenza A viruses. Veterinary Microbiology. 2021 Dec 1;263:109251.

2. Manvell RJ, English C, Jorgensen PH, Brown IH. Pathogenesis of H7 influenza A viruses isolated from ostriches in the homologous host infected experimentally. Avian Diseases. 2003 Sep 1;47(s3):1150-3.