Michigan has now had six commercial poultry flocks affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in April.
According to information from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the most recent case was confirmed in a commercial meat turkey flock in Gratiot County, involving 27,700 birds.
This is the first case of HPAI in Gratiot County during the 2022-24 HPAI outbreak.
With the latest instance of H5N1 avian influenza in Michigan, the state has now lost three commercial turkey flocks and three egg laying flocks in 2024, all of which were infected in April. All of the affected layer operations were in Ionia County, with the smallest of the three involving more than 1.9 million hens.
The three turkey operations were in Gratiot, Ottawa and Newaygo counties. The Gratiot County flock was the smallest of the three, while the Ottawa County flock had the most with about 104,000 turkeys.
Prior to April, the last time Michigan had a commercial flock affected by HPAI was December 27, 2023.
So far during the 2022-24 outbreak, Michigan has lost nine commercial poultry flocks. In 2023, the state lost two flocks, which collectively involved 78,900 birds. In 2022, Michigan had one flock of 35,100 birds affected.
The H5N1 virus has not only been present in poultry operations in Michigan, but also in commercial dairy operations in the state.
According to APHIS, between March 29 and April 17, six Michigan dairy herds have been affected by the virus. APHIS did not disclose the counties where these bovine cases were confirmed, but the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has identified the following counties: Ottawa, Ionia, Isabella and Montcalm.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
