In response to the Jan. 14 confirmation of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Indiana, Georgia State Veterinarian Robert Cobb is urging owners of backyard and pastured poultry to move their flocks inside.
In a memorandum to the Georgia's poultry producers whose flocks have outside access, Cobb said all poultry with outside access must be moved poultry into biosecure housing until further notice. In cases where doing so is not possible, Cobb wrote, the Georgia Department of Agriculture should be notified immediately.
Cobb instructed poultry producers to implement strict biosecurity on these premises and to notify their employees, growers and service personnel of the increased risk of HPAI. He emphasized the importance of preventing flocks from coming into contact with wild waterfowl or their droppings. In addition, he urged growers to monitor their flocks for increased mortality or clinical signs consistent with HPAI and report any concerns immediately. For information about HPAI visit www.ga-ai.org or call 855-491-1432. To contact the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network, visit www.gapoultrylab.org or call 770-766-6850.
On Jan. 15 the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H7N8 avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Dubois County, Indiana. This is a different strain of HPAI than the strains that cause the 2015 outbreak.
On Jan. 17 APHIS announced that eight of nine H7N8 cases detected in Dubois County on Jan. 16 have been confirmed as low pathogenic avian influenza. At press time, additional testing was ongoing for the ninth flock.
The Jan. 16 detections were identified as part of surveillance testing in the control area surrounding the initial highly pathogenic H7N8 case identified on Jan. 15.
The pathogenicity of a virus refers to its ability to produce disease. Birds with low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) often show no signs of infection or only have minor symptoms. HPAI viruses spread quickly and cause high mortality in domestic poultry. H7 LPAI viruses have been known to mutate into HPAI viruses in the past.
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