Avian Influenza

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is announcing the expansion of wild bird surveillance for avian influenza to include the Mississippi and Central Flyways. This expansion also enlarged the existing surveillance program in the Atlantic and Pacific Flyways, which is in place to conduct surveillance of birds that may interact with wild birds from Europe and Asia. APHIS confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds in several states in the Atlantic Flyway in January as well as in a commercial turkey flock in Indiana on February 8, and this additional surveillance will increase our capability to track the disease throughout the United States.

Anyone involved with poultry should review their biosecurity plan and enhance their biosecurity practices to ensure the health of their birds. APHIS has materials about biosecurity, including videos, checklists, and a toolkit available on the Defend the Flock Resource Center. In addition to practicing good biosecurity, all bird owners should prevent contact between their birds and wild birds and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to state/federal officials, either through their state veterinarian or through USDA's toll-free number at 1-866-536-7593. Additional information on biosecurity for backyard flocks can be found at https://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov.

See also: 2022 Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza for related news of the Eurasian H5 HPAI in the U.S.

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides science to understand wildlife diseases, including avian influenza (AI). Avian influenza viruses occur naturally in wild birds such as ducks, geese, swans, and gulls. These viruses generally do not cause illness in wild birds but they can be highly pathogenic and cause illness and death in poultry and wildlife. Learn more with this geonarrative.

For the first time, scientists have tracked the movement of a wild bird known to be infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza in North America. The new research, led by the U.S. Geological Survey, can help improve estimates of when and where the virus could spread in the environment and to other birds.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has developed a publicly available dashboard that displays the results from nation-wide avian influenza virus (AIV) monitoring in wild bird populations. The dashboard may be found at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/maps/animal-health/wild-bird-avian-flu-surveillance.

Data presented in the dashboard can identify increased AIV risk and can provide information to poultry producers, wildlife managers, and members of the public on AIV activity in their area.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) continues its efforts to respond to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the United States. To date, the virus has been confirmed in 35 states, affecting more than 37.9 million domestic birds. APHIS’ response efforts include working closely with animal health officials in affected states to quickly identify and address new cases of HPAI. To help ensure APHIS can continue to provide critical rapid response activities, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack approved the transfer of $400 million from the Commodity Credit Corporation to APHIS to directly support the response efforts.

While these response efforts are vital to ending the outbreak, there are also actions bird owners can take to help stop the spread of this virus. APHIS has a variety of biosecurity resources available along with more information for bird owners.