The presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in a commercial table egg layer pullet flock in Weld County, Colorado.
The case was confirmed on June 9, just two days after another HPAI case was confirmed in a commercial egg layer operation in Weld County.
The pullet flock included 205,000 birds, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported.
So far in 2022, four commercial poultry flocks in Colorado have been affected by HPAI. Of those, three were in Weld County, while the other was in Montrose County. According to APHIS, 3.41 million commercial birds in Colorado have been affected by avian influenza. Birds in two backyard flocks and one in an animal rescue and rehabilitation center in the state have also been affected.
Following the first HPAI case in Colorado on April 29, Gov. Jared Polis issued a verbal state of emergency and established a Unified Command Group (UCG) to facilitate the state response.
The UCG is led by the Colorado Department of Agriculture and supported by the Colorado Department of Public Safety and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The Colorado State Emergency Operations Center transitioned to level 2 operations to support the increased activity of HPAI and provide support to the UCG.
The goal of the HPAI UCG is to establish a structure to effectively respond to any new detections of HPAI in Colorado. Colorado is following best practices from other states, which have also established formal structures to respond to HPAI outbreaks.
So far in 2022, HPAI has been confirmed in commercial poultry in the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Colorado, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Utah. The virus has also been found in commercial game bird operations in Texas, New York and South Dakota.
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.
