Highly pathogenic avian influenza detected this week in more commercial and backyard poultry flocks across the nation.
December 12, 2024
By Kristin Bakker
In the past week, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), announced the detection of two cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry flocks in Nebraska.
These two latest outbreaks represent the second and third cases of HPAI in Nebraska poultry in 2024. The first case of the past week was detected in a commercial hen breeding turkey flock in Nemaha County, Neb., and the second case was detected in a small backyard chicken flock in Dodge County, NDA said in its Dec. 12 statement.
“HPAI is a highly contagious virus that is still circulating in wild birds, and in backyard and commercial flocks around the U.S.,” Nebraska State Veterinarian Dr. Roger Dudley said. “While we have not had a case of HPAI in Nebraska since February, many other states have already experienced or are experiencing the devastating effects of this disease to their flocks. Poultry producers need to continue to monitor for and protect their birds against HPAI. Knowing the signs and symptoms of HPAI and continuing to practice good biosecurity measures helps prevent the spread of this disease in their flocks.”
In addition to Nebraska, other states have reported avian influenza detections this week.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship and APHIS issued an announcement Dec. 11 that H5N1 HPAI was found in a commercial turkey flock in Sac County, Iowa – the state’s seventh detection of HPAI in poultry in 2024.
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry and APHIS announced Dec. 10 that they have confirmed a positive case of HPAI in a second commercial poultry flock in Adair County. HPAI was first detected in a separate Adair County flock on Nov. 30.
Based on this new detection, the state agriculture department reported an additional control area has been established in Adair and Delaware counties of Oklahoma to assess the extent of the infection. Movement of poultry in and out of the established control area is restricted to manage the spread of HPAI.
“We knew it was possible that HPAI may be detected in more than one flock due to the virus being circulated around the country by wild waterfowl,” Oklahoma State Veterinarian Dr. Rod Hall said. “We are continuing to work closely with USDA, poultry producers and livestock producers to control and mitigate the spread of this disease in our state.”
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (DATCP) has identified a case of HPAI in a commercial poultry flock in Barron County. DATCP and U.S. animal health officials are working together in a joint incident response. The affected premises will not move poultry or poultry products, and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease and will not enter the food system, according to DATCP's Dec. 12 statement.
The department continues to urge all livestock owners to implement strong biosecurity measures to protect their flocks and herds from the disease. DATCP additionally noted that Wisconsin has not identified HPAI infection in its dairy herds to date.
Meanwhile, by midweek APHIS had also confirmed outbreaks on commercial turkey farms in South Dakota in Beadle, Charles Mix and Moody counties, as well as a backyard flock in Lafayette County in Arkansas, according to an update from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (CIDRAP).
Missouri reported two more outbreaks in poultry, one at a commercial farm in Daviess County and in backyard birds in Cedar County.
Colorado and Idaho reported outbreaks in backyard birds – a detection in La Plata County, Colo., and in Jefferson County, Ida.
California, which has seen an abundance of HPAI cases not only in birds but also in dairy cows and people, reported further outbreaks this past week.
APHIS confirmed that the virus struck a broiler farm with more than 330,000 birds in Tulare County in California, as well as a duck breeder in Stanislaus County and another farm in Kern County, CIDRAP reported Dec. 11.
In dairy cattle, APHIS confirmed 32 more outbreaks from California, lifting the state's number of affected farms to 559 and the national total to 774 across 15 states.
In a statement, Marin County Public Health in California said it is actively investigating – along with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – a suspected avian flu infection in a child who experienced fever and vomiting after drinking raw milk and tested positive for influenza A.
CDPH had issued an alert to health providers on Dec. 6 notifying them about the recently confirmed H5 infection in California child who had no known exposure to infected animals. An update from CDC this week said the sample from the child could not be completely sequenced and assigned a genotype, but it most closely resembles the type circulating in dairy cattle.
This led CDPH to urge health providers to consider influenza A in patients with symptoms who recently had contact with sick animals or recent exposure to raw dairy products.
Marin County issued a statement Dec. 10 urging consumers to avoid drinking raw milk.
Earlier this month, a California raw milk producer recalled batches of raw milk after tests on retail milk turned up the virus. An outbreak in the farm’s cows recently prompted a quarantine that bars the distribution of its raw milk products, according to CIDRAP.
California has reported 32 confirmed human H5 infections this year, all but one in dairy workers.
Cases such as these have spurred federal action, with APHIS announcing Dec. 6 the start of its National Milk Testing Strategy to build on measures taken by USDA and federal and state partners since the outbreak of HPAI H5N1 in dairy cattle was first detected in March 2024.
To that end, USDA issued a federal order and accompanying new guidance requiring that raw (unpasteurized) milk samples nationwide be collected and shared with USDA for testing. USDA said the guidance was developed with significant input from state, veterinary and public health stakeholders to facilitate comprehensive H5N1 surveillance of the nation’s milk supply and dairy herds.
*UPDATED: On Dec. 16, APHIS confirmed the presence of HPAI in a backyard flock in Bossier Parish in Louisiana. APHIS noted that this is the first case of HPAI in domestic birds in Louisiana during this outbreak, which began in February 2022.
Samples from the flock were tested at the Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
On the same day, Michigan also reported its first outbreak in poultry since May, on a commercial farm in Ottawa County.
Elsewhere, Iowa reported an outbreak at a layer farm in O'Brien County. APHIS confirmed an outbreak in Illinois poultry – the state's second in the past month – at a turkey breeder hen facility in Livingston County. California continues to report HPAI cases in poultry – at a broiler operation and duck meat operations – as well as in dairy cows and people.
The California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) announced Dec. 14 a recall of raw milk from a second producer: Valley Milk Simply Bottled in Stanislaus County. The recall was issued after samples taken from a raw milk bulk tank at the Valley Milk Simply Bottled dairy farm tested positive for avian flu.
You May Also Like
Enter a zip code to see the weather conditions for a different location.
