H5N1 Avian Flu Strikes More Poultry in 4 States

By Lisa Schnirring

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today confirmed more H5N1 avian flu detections in poultry from four states, including several in hard-hit Ohio.

The latest outbreaks in Ohio involved four commercial farms in Mercer County, three turkey producers and one at a duck meat facility. Over the past month, Ohio’s outbreaks have led to the loss of nearly 6 million birds, including several large layer farms, with most of the other events involving turkey producers.

APHIS also confirmed an outbreak at a layer farm in Arizona’s Pinal County that has about 316,000 birds. Officials also confirmed two detections in backyard flocks, one in Nebraska’s Kearney County and one in Florida’s Orange County.

Since H5N1 was first detected in US poultry in early 2022, outbreaks have led to the loss of a record 147.25 million birds across all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

In dairy cow developments, APHIS confirmed one more detection, another herd from California, raising the national total to 944 and the state’s total to 727.