Colorado’s has had its first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial poultry flock since 2022.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the presence of the virus in a flock of 67,200 broiler breeders in Delta County, Colorado, on February 8.
The last HPAI case in a commercial flock in the state was confirmed on December 20, 2022. In that instance, 239,700 commercial egg layers were affected. Colorado did have 13 non-commercial farms affected by HPAI in 2023, but non-commercial flock infections do not impact global poultry trade, per standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
This is the first confirmed case of HPAI in Delta County during the 2022-24 outbreak.
HPAI in other states
Colorado is not the only state to have avoided cases of HPAI in commercial poultry flocks in 2023 but have already seen cases in the first six months of 2024.
HPAI was confirmed in a commercial broiler flock in Nebraska on February 6, which was the first case for Nebraska in a commercial flock since November 25, 2022. In January, the presence of HPAI was confirmed in a commercial turkey flock in Indiana, the state’s first case since December 13, 2022.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
