A commercial turkey flock in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), making it the first confirmed case of HPAI in the United States since 2017.
The size of the flock has not been revealed.
According to a notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the serotype of the virus in this flock is H7N3. It appears this HPAI strain mutated from a low pathogenic strain that has been found in poultry in that area recently.
APHIS stated that the flock had experienced increased mortality. Samples from the suspect flock were tested at the Clemson Veterinary Diagnostic Center, part of the National Animal Laboratory Network, and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa.
APHIS is working closely with the South Carolina State Veterinarian’s Office, part of Clemson University, on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the property were depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease.
As part of existing avian influenza response plans, federal and state partners are working jointly on additional surveillance and testing in the nearby area.
APHIS is urging all bird owners, whether commercial producers or backyard enthusiasts, to continue to practice good biosecurity, prevent contact between their birds and wild birds, and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to state or federal officials, either through their state veterinarian or through USDA’s toll-free number at +1.866.536.7593.
According to the latest report to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) from APHIS, there were 12 previous cases of low pathogenic avian influenza in the area. Of the total, 11 of the low pathogenic avian influenza cases were detected in North Carolina, and the other one was in South Carolina.
The 2017 cases of HPAI occurred in Lincoln County, Tennessee, and Christian County, Kentucky.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
