New avian flu cases in South Dakota, Maryland, Illinois

Six new cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been confirmed in the United States, with four of those being in South Dakota and one each in Maryland and Illinois.

Roy Graber Headshot
On the puzzles there is an inscription - Avian Influenza, on a blue background pills.
On the puzzles there is an inscription - Avian Influenza, on a blue background pills.
(SkazouD | Bigstock)

Six new cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been confirmed in the United States, with four of those being in South Dakota and one each in Maryland and Illinois.

The latest confirmed cases were announced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

Avian influenza in South Dakota

APHIS confirmed the presence of HPAI in two South Dakota commercial meat turkey flocks on November 29 and two more on November 30. All four of those cases were found in separate counties.

A flock of 71,600 turkeys in Hanson County and a flock of 32,900 turkeys in Spink County were confirmed on November 29, flocks of 75,100 turkeys in Charles Mix County and 50,500 turkeys in Hamlin County were confirmed on November 30.

With the four new cases, South Dakota has now had 54 confirmed instances of HPAI in commercial poultry flocks in 2022. Only Minnesota has had more flocks affected by HPAI with 79.

The Spink County case follows another case in that county that was confirmed on November 25, bringing its total number of cases in 2022 to five.

The Charles Mix County case was also its fifth case, although the last case there was confirmed on April 1. It had been even longer since Hanson County had an HPAI detection, with the last case there being confirmed on March 22. Hanson County has now had three cases.

This is the first case in a commercial flock in Hamlin County, although the virus had previously been found in backyard poultry.

Avian influenza in Maryland

The presence of HPAI was confirmed in a commercial table egg breeder flock in Washington County, Maryland, on November 29. There were 24,600 birds in that flock.

State officials quarantined all affected premises, and birds on the properties have been depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) announced in a press release.

Maryland Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder said: “MDA, USDA and other partner agencies are working diligently to address and localize the situation, including quarantining and testing nearby flocks.”

This is the first HPAI case in Washington County, but the fifth for Maryland. Three of those were in Cecil County, while the other was in Queen Anne’s County. This is the state’s first confirmed case in commercial poultry since March 18.

Avian influenza in Illinois

For the first time in 2022, HPAI was confirmed in a commercial operation in Illinois, with an upland gamebird production farm affected. The flock, in Grundy County, included about 8,000 birds.

That case was confirmed on November 30.

Prior to this, Illinois had only seen four backyard flocks affected by HPAI.

British Columbia has one more HPAI case

One more case of HPAI was confirmed in commercial poultry in British Columbia on November 30. This particular case was in Chilliwack, making this the 12th case for the municipality, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Specific details about the flock size or the type of birds in the flock have not been disclosed.

With the most recent case, British Columbia and Alberta share the status as the province with the most confirmed cases of HPAI in commercial poultry flocks in 2022. Both have had 38 cases.

To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com. 

Read our ongoing coverage of the global avian influenza outbreak.

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