HPAI infections confirmed in 35 states: USDA

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infections have now affected 344 commercial and backyard flocks in 35 states, USDA said in its latest update.
More than 38 million birds have been affected in the outbreaks, which include 57,000 turkeys at a commercial farm in Minnesota’s Dakota County, the agency confirmed  over the weekend. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in recent days also confirmed New Jersey’s first case of HPAI of 2022 in a non-commercial backyard poultry flock in Monmouth County. APHIS says it is working with state animal health officials on a joint response to the outbreak.

HPAI so far has not been detected in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Tennessee, Rhode Island, South Carolina, West Virginia and Puerto Rico, according to APHIS. Confirmed cases of bird flu in nine domestic flocks in seven counties across Washington State prompted local agricultural officials last week to recommend a halt in live-market poultry sales for 30 days. While the closures are not mandatory, the department has reached out to markets across the state to advise them against selling live birds.
Meanwhile, a report from across the border announced that 4,000 turkeys were in line to be euthanized on a farm in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley. A small flock of poultry in Richmond, B.C., also has been infected, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed in a separate report. HPAI infections so far have spread to 85 commercial and small flock locations across Canada, impacting more than 1.8 million birds, according to the Canadian government.