H5N1 Strikes More Poultry Flocks in 3 States

By Lisa Schnirring

Federal officials today confirmed more H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in poultry in three states, with commercial farms in Missouri especially hard hit.

According to the latest updates from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the virus was confirmed at five farms in Missouri, all of them commercial facilities. 

Affected premises include a layer farm in Newton County that has nearly 1.15 million birds. Other producers include a turkey farm in Newton County, a broiler breeder farm in McDonald County, and three turkey farms in three different counties.

Over the past 30 days, the virus has led to the loss of nearly 4.3 million poultry in Missouri.

Outbreaks in California, Oregon

In other poultry developments, APHIS confirmed the virus on a commercial turkey farm in California's San Joaquin County that has 22,200 birds and in a backyard flock of 8 birds in Oregon's Klamath County.

APHIS testing also confirmed H5N1 in one more dairy cow herd, another in California, raising the national total to 957 and California's total to 736.