High path avian flu has been detected once again in North Carolina.
The virus was discovered at a commercial egg production facility near a wild bird flyway. The state’s Ag Commissioner says that its location made it vulnerable to contamination by wild birds.
“We know it’s in the wild bird population, and it is a threat to both commercial and backyard birds,” Steve Troxler explains. “The threat is very real, but the good thing is this facility is very isolated.”
Veterinarians urge poultry farmers to be extra vigilant with biosecurity efforts, by keeping visitors to a minimum, providing boot covers and foot baths, washing hands, and even changing clothes before and after entering facilities.
Over the last three years, HPAI has impacted more than 130 million birds in the United States.
California’s State Veterinarian has now issued a ban on poultry and cattle exhibitions.
The state’s ag department confirmed high path avian influenza cases in 65 dairy farms in the last month. The state says that it will reassess the threat over the next several months.
