Indiana lifts avian flu control zones in Greene County

The quarantine for commercial poultry farms in Greene County, Indiana, put in place after reported outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been lifted.

Control measures to prevent the spread of HPAI were lifted for the areas surrounding Greene County farms G1 and G2 on March 15, according to information posted on the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) website. These protocols included quarantine, weekly and bi-weekly surveillance testing and movement permits.

Two farms in Greene County, identified as G1 and G2, will remain under quarantine until they have finished with compost disposal, virus elimination, environmental sampling and a fallow period.

HPAI in Indiana

The first confirmed case of HPAI in a commercial turkey flock in Dubois County, Indiana was reported on February 9, 2022. At the time, the Indiana State BOAH established a 10-kilometer control zone that covered 17 other commercial poultry farms. All but one of those premises were turkey operations, with the other being a one-barn layer facility.

Officials further confirmed the presence of HPAI in two commercial turkey flocks in Green County on February 23, 2022.

Since then, more than 171,224 commercial turkeys on six farms in the two counties have been reported as infected with HPAI, the Indiana State BOAH said. One flock included 48,000 turkeys, while the other included 15,400 turkeys. All of those birds have been depopulated.

In addition to Indiana, HPAI has been confirmed in commercial poultry flocks in the U.S. states of South Dakota, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa and Delaware. It has also appeared in a commercial flock in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

HPAI has also been confirmed in all four North American flyways, but only three flyways have had confirmed cases in commercial poultry. The Pacific Flyway case involved a bald eagle in British Columbia, Canada. HPAI cases in wild birds such as that eagle should not result in any poultry trade bans, in accordance with standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

To learn more about HPAI cases in North American commercial poultry flocks, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.

Read our ongoing coverage of the global avian influenza outbreak.