Avian Influenza Cases Outpacing 2014/2015 Outbreak

Apr 20, 2022

The number of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) cases in the United States are outpacing the 2014/2015 outbreak, but the higher numbers might be attributed to improvements in detection and reporting protocols. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s latest Market Intel examines the impact of HPAI region by region.

Farm Bureau economists found as of April 7, there have been more than 600 detections of HPAI in wild birds across 31 states, and 158 detections in commercial and backyard flocks across 25 states.

The 2014/2015 outbreak prompted revisions to the National HPAI Surveillance Plan, which has led to heightened annual surveillance plans, providing poultry producers earlier notice to increase their biosecurity measures.

“The HPAI outbreak is an urgent reminder to all poultry farmers to ensure their biosecurity measures are in place,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Every effort must be made to protect the health of the animals in our care in order to keep America’s food supply strong.”

AFBF economists analyzed HPAI detections in commercial flocks and found the Mississippi flyway is the most impacted, with 49% of detections, followed by the Central flyway at 36% and the Atlantic with 15% of cases.

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Video: Four Star Pork Industry Conf - Back to Basics: Fundamentals drive vaccine performance

At a time when disease pressure continues to challenge pork production systems across the United States, vaccination remains one of the most valuable and heavily debated tools available to veterinarians and producers.

Speaking at the 2025 Four Star Pork Industry Conference in Muncie, Indiana, Dr. Daniel Gascho, veterinarian at Four Star Veterinary Service, encouraged the industry to return to fundamentals in how vaccines are selected, handled and administered across sow farms, gilt development units and grow-finish operations.

Gascho acknowledged at the outset that vaccination can quickly become a technical and sometimes tedious topic. But he said that real-world execution, not complex immunology, is where most vaccine failures occur.