The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing an additional $502 million under the Animal Health Protection Act to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to prepare for potential additional detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
Previously, USDA invested more than $793 million in emergency funding to respond to this outbreak by implementing quarantine restrictions, depopulating affected flocks, disposing of depopulated birds, cleaning and eliminating the virus from affected premises, and conducting surveillance in surrounding areas.
The United States has not had any new HPAI cases in commercial poultry since April 19 and none in backyard poultry since May 18, which APHIS pointed out as positive news since there were 18 cases of HPAI in U.S. commercial poultry flocks in May 2022.
However, APHIS stresses that HPAI is still prevalent in many parts of the world, and in North American wild bird populations, therefore the threat is still high. The additional funding will help ensure that the agency can continue with its surveillance and be prepared to respond in the case of future HPAI detections.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Canada and Mexico, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
