A flock of commercial laying hens in Nebraska and a flock of commercial broiler breeder pullets in Pennsylvania are the latest victims in the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak of 2022.
Both cases were confirmed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on April 27.
Nebraska avian influenza case
The latest HPAI case in Nebraska was in Knox County, and involved 2,118,000 layers.
This is the second case in a layer flock in Nebraska, and the state’s fourth case in a commercial flock. The previous case in a layer flock was confirmed on April 12 and involved a flock of nearly 1.75 million layers in Dixon County.
There were also two commercial broiler flocks in Butler County to have confirmed cases of HPAI in March. Those cases involved 417,000 and 570,000 chickens.
There have also been three cases in backyard flocks in Nebraska, but those cases should not have any impact on international poultry trade, in accordance with standards set forth by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
Pennsylvania avian influenza case
The most recent case of HPAI to be confirmed in Pennsylvania involved a flock of commercial broiler breeder pullets in Lancaster County. About 18,000 pullets were affected.
So far in 2022, Pennsylvania has had six cases of HPAI, all of which occurred in Lancaster County. Four of those occurred in commercial egg operations, while another was a commercial broiler production operation.
The total number of chickens affected by HPAI in Pennsylvania now stands at 3,825,800.
Recent avian influenza cases in Canada
Three new cases of HPAI have been confirmed in commercial poultry flocks in Canada during the past week, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
Those cases include:
- A commercial flock in Camrose County, Alberta, confirmed on April 25
- A commercial flock in Huron County, Ontario, confirmed on April 26
- A commercial flock in Montrose, Saskatchewan, confirmed on April 26
Further information regarding these three cases has not yet been released by CFIA.
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.
