Over the past week, federal officials reported more highly pathogenic avian flu outbreaks in 11 states, including three involving large layer farm operations. Also, the virus hit more turkey farms and backyard poultry flocks.
According to the latest updates from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Colorado reported an outbreak at a layer farm in Weld County that houses 1.4 million birds. Similarly, South Dakota reported an outbreak at a layer farm in Moody County that has 1.3 million birds, and Washington reported an event at a layer farm in Franklin County has houses more than 1 million birds.
Meanwhile, other states reported new outbreaks on commercial turkey farms, including Indiana and Iowa. States that reported detections in other settings, including backyard flocks, include California, Montana, Oregon, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Tennessee.
So far, outbreaks involving the Eurasian H5N1 strain, first reported in US poultry in February, have led to the loss of a record 57.5 million birds from 47 states.
Canada, Mexico report high-path detections
In related developments, Canada reported several more highly pathogenic H5 avian flu detections in wild birds, including the H5N6 strain, which was found in a blue-winged teal near Winnipeg in Manitoba, according to a notification from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). Meanwhile, tests identified H5N1 in wild birds from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.
South of the US border, Mexico reported 20 more outbreaks in poultry, which hit farms across 7 states, leading to the loss of more than 4 million birds, according to a separate notice from the WOAH. Affected states are Chiapas, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, Mexico, Chihuahua, Jalisco, and Yucatan.