Avian influenza hits commercial poultry flock in Delaware

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been confirmed in a commercial poultry flock in New Castle County, Delaware.

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The presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in a commercial poultry flock in New Castle County, Delaware.

The case was announced on the morning of February 23 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The notice from APHIS did not clarify whether it was a layer, broiler or turkey flock. However, the headline of a press release on the Delaware Department of Agriculture website narrowed it down, identifying it as a “chicken flock.”

Samples from the flock were tested at the University of Delaware’s Allen Laboratory in Newark, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa. APHIS stated that it is working closely with state animal health officials in Delaware on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease.

“We have taken immediate action to contain this disease and will continue to work with poultry owners, the industry and our laboratory partners to protect against its spread,” said Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse. “This appears to be an isolated case, with no reports of disease among our chicken industry.”

The Delaware agriculture agency said the case involved avian influenza of the H5N1 serotype.

This is the first confirmed case of HPAI in commercial poultry to be reported in Delaware, although cases of HPAI in wild birds in the state were previously reported.

This latest case marks the fifth case of HPAI in a commercial poultry flock in the United States in 2022. Also affected are two commercial turkey flocks in Dubois County, Indiana; a commercial turkey flock in Webster County, Kentucky and a commercial broiler flock in Fulton County, Kentucky. 

There are also two presumed-positive cases of HPAI in commercial turkey flocks in Greene County, Indiana, which await confirmation. Turkeys at both of those locations have been depopulated.

There has also been a confirmed HPAI case in commercial turkeys in Nova Scotia, Canada.

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