A fifth commercial turkey flock has been depopulated in Indiana, after the preliminary tests indicated that the flock could be infected with avian influenza.
According to the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH), this flock is in Dubois County, where the state’s two confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) were located. This latest detection was on a farm located about 2.5 kilometers from where the initial case appeared.
The BOAH further stated that this flock included 35,908 birds.
Preliminary tests identified the presence of H5 avian influenza virus in this flock. This is considered a presumptive-positive case, and samples are being verified at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa.
Two other Indiana cases are also listed as presumed positive. Both of those cases are in Greene County and await confirmation from the USDA.
Pending test results should indicate if the virus is the same as the first affected farm that was diagnosed, and if the virus is highly pathogenic.
With the five flocks now depopulated, the avian influenza outbreak has claimed 154,781 turkeys in the state.
In addition to the Indiana cases, there have been three other cases of HPAI in commercial poultry in the United States in 2022. Those include a commercial broiler flock in Fulton County, Kentucky, a commercial turkey flock in Webster County, Kentucky, and an unspecified commercial poultry flock in New Castle County, Delaware. A total of 302,400 birds in Kentucky have been depopulated, while the size of the Delaware flock, which is also being depopulated, has not yet been disclosed.
A commercial turkey flock in Nova Scotia, Canada, has also been confirmed to have been infected with HPAI. There have also been confirmed cases of HPAI in non-commercial birds in Newfoundland and Labrador.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
