Avian Flu Strikes More Poultry Farms In 4 States

More highly pathogenic avian flu outbreaks in poultry have been reported in four states, all involving commercial farms, according to the latest updates from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

In Missouri, the virus struck a turkey farm in Webster County that houses 15,100 birds, and in South Dakota, four more outbreaks were reported at turkey farms in Charles Mix, Hamlin, Hanson, and Spink counties, leading to a loss of about 230,000 birds.

Elsewhere, Illinois reported an outbreak at a game bird producer in Grundy County that has 8,000 birds, and Maryland reported an event at a layer bird breeding farm in Washington County, which houses 24,600 birds.

The US outbreaks in poultry involving the Eurasian H5N1 strain began in February and so far have led to the loss of a record 52.7 million birds across 46 states.

In other related developments, APHIS reported 20 more H5N1 detections in mammals, raising the total to 98. Many involved skunks, but the detections included other species, including a black bear from Alaska, red foxes from New York, a possum from Virginia, an Amur leopard in New York, a bottlenose dolphin in Florida, and a harbor seal in Maine.

In international developments, Hungary this week reported an H5N1 outbreak in poultry, its first since June, according to a notification from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). The virus hit a farm in Bekes County in the southwestern part of the country that houses 3,080 birds.