Georgia chicken farm reports bird flu outbreak affecting 140,000 birds

A Georgia chicken producer is working to stop the spread of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), more commonly known as bird flu, after becoming the third commercial operation in the state to have tested positive this year.

The Gordon County producer noticed signs of illness on Wednesday and reported it to the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network on Thursday, according to a Georgia Department of Agriculture press release.

The following day, Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Management and State Agricultural Response Teams “deployed to the affected premises to conduct depopulation, disposal, cleaning, and disinfection.”

The facility housed about 140,000 broiler chickens.

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For at least the next two weeks, state officials say, all commercial poultry operations within a 6.2-mile radius are under quarantine and will undergo surveillance testing.

“This poses a serious threat to Georgia’s #1 industry and to the thousands of Georgians whose livelihoods depend on poultry production,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J Harper said in a statement. “Our team is working around the clock to contain the spread and protect our flocks.”

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Last week, the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy Research and Innovation Office (CIDRAP) reported a commercial turkey farm in Swift County “that houses 34,000 birds is the site of the latest outbreak to hit the top turkey-producing state in the nation.”

A commercial egg-layer farm in Indiana with nearly 20,000 birds also recently reported a bird flu outbreak, CIDRAP reported.

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HPAI was first confirmed in a commercial flock in the U.S. on Feb. 8, 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS).

Data from the agency says over the last 30 days, 64 flocks have been confirmed infected, impacting nearly 3.5 million birds.