62,800 turkeys were in California flock hit by HPAI

On the same day H5N1 was confirmed in a California turkey flock, the virus was also found in six dairy farms in the state.

Roy Graber Headshot
H5 N1 With Virus Image
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The first U.S. commercial poultry flock to be struck by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in two months involved 62,800 turkeys, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported.

APHIS previously reported that the presence of HPAI was confirmed in a commercial meat turkey flock in Merced County, California, on September 18. However, the initial report did not state how many birds were affected. APHIS has since updated its website to include the flock size.

Prior to this instance of HPAI, the last time the virus was found in a U.S. commercial poultry flock was July 19. The last time California had a commercial poultry flock affected by HPAI was January 18. That flock infection also occurred in Merced County. California also had three commercial flocks struck by HPAI on January 3, with two of those in Merced County and the other in Sonoma County.

So far, all commercial poultry flocks in the United States to have been affected by HPAI during the 2022-24 outbreak have been struck by the H5N1 strain.

H5N1 in dairy cattle

While there had been a lengthy period between cases of H5N1 in California’s commercial poultry flocks, there has been a surge in H5N1 cases in the state’s commercial dairy cattle herds.

On the same day the Merced County turkey flock was infected with the virus, the presence of H5N1 was confirmed in six dairy herds in the state, APHIS reported.

Since the end of August, 16 dairy farms in California have had confirmed cases of H5N1.

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. 

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