For the third time this year, a commercial upland gamebird operation in Kansas has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
The most recently affected flock involved 17,000 birds and was located in Mitchell County. The case was confirmed on February 8, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Mitchell County had another commercial gamebird operation affected by HPAI, with that case confirmed on January 17 and involving 6,900 birds.
The other commercial gamebird flock affected was in Anderson County, with that case confirmed on January 4 and involving 8,900 birds.
The only other case of HPAI in a commercial operation in Kansas during the 2022-23 outbreak involved a flock of commercial turkey breeder hens in McPherson County, which led to the depopulation of 6,900 birds. That case was confirmed on April 13, 2022.
In August 2022, while speaking during the Kansas Ag Summit, Kansas Deputy Animal Health Commissioner Dr. Sara McReynolds spoke on the HPAI outbreak, saying, “There’s a lot of things to be concerned of, and we certainly are anticipating it could be a long haul.”
Other states to have confirmed cases of HPAI in commercial flocks in 2023 include Mississippi, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Iowa and California. In 2022, 27 of the 50 states had confirmed cases of HPAI in commercial flocks.
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.
