After a relatively quiet March with just one outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in domestic poultry, Quebec has turned up 13 outbreaks so far this month.

The Quebec government announced April 6th it will put up $800,000 for the province’s poultry disease control team to go toward producer training; updating biosecurity protocols; building up “field expertise” in cleaning and disinfection of barns; and buying and developing new systems for rapid culling on infected farms.

The province also said it would set up new supports for small farms, including the establishment of a voluntary ID registry; biosecurity training for backyard and smaller-scale poultry operations; and development of a best practices guide for construction of chicken coops.

Relatively few cases have been spotted so far this month elsewhere in Canada.

They include a non-commercial, non-poultry site in central Alberta’s Lacombe County, detected Friday, and two commercial poultry barns in southwestern Ontario.