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High-path avian influenza cases down dramatically from last spring

There are far fewer cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza compared to last spring.

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service administrator Kevin Shea says in the first three weeks of April 2022, there were 75 cases in commercial poultry facilities.

“And (on Tuesday) we had our very first one (in April) at a small turkey facility in North Dakota.”

In March, he tells Brownfield there were seven commercial poultry detections, a decrease of 85 percent from the previous year.

Shea attributes the reduction in avian flu cases to effective biosecurity and potentially less virus load in migratory birds.

“They of course go all the way to South America in the winter and mix there, and it could be that they’ve worked through some of the virus and hopefully brought less back this year than they did last year. But we can’t rest at all and count on that being the case.”

USDA recently held a stakeholder roundtable with poultry industry leaders and state government officials to discuss current and future HPAI strategies.