Bird flu infects flock of 800,000 poultry in southeast Washington

Bird flu has infected a commercial flock of about 800,000 fowl at an egg farm in southeast Washington, the state’s Department of Agriculture said this week.

It’s the first detection in Washington this year of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial poultry operation and is one of about four dozen known commercial and domestic flocks in the state to be infected with the disease since 2022, the department said.

“It was a pretty long break we got,” said Amber Betts, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Agriculture. She explained that the fall migration season for wild birds raises the risks of the disease spreading at poultry facilities.

As of Thursday, there were no signs the H5N1 virus had spread to humans or other types of livestock in the area where the infected flock was detected, Betts said.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/10/18/bird-flu-infects-flock-of-800000-poultry-in-southeast-washington/