WASHINGTON - After cases subsided during much of the summer, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreaks continue to be reported throughout the country.

Following accounts from California on Aug. 26, the state and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the US Department of Agriculture found that another 195,000 birds in a commercial broiler flock in Fresno and Tuolumne County were exposed during Aug. 30. 

Minnesota  also confirmed that a commercial turkey flock was culled following a presumptive positive result at the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory (MPTL). The results were confirmed at the US Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, on Aug. 30.

“While the timing of this detection is a bit sooner than we anticipated, we have been preparing for a resurgence of the avian influenza we dealt with this spring,” said Shauna Voss, DVM, senior state veterinarian in Minnesota. “HPAI is here, and biosecurity is the first line of defense to protect your birds.”

Just to the West, North Dakota’s Department of Agriculture stated that HPAI was in a non-commercial, backyard flock in Cass County, which stopped poultry/bird events across the state. If no new cases emerge in 30 days, the suspension will lift. 

“While we hoped there would not be additional cases this fall, due to the extensive involvement wild birds played in the spread of disease this year, we knew it was possible,” state veterinarian, Ethan Andress said. “The suspension of poultry/bird events is a precaution to reduce the risk of further spread of avian influenza to North Dakota birds.”

Another state reporting its first HPAI case since June 8 was Indiana, where a non-commercial hobby flock tested positive for the virus, according to the Indiana State Board of Health.

The latest numbers from the APHIS on Aug. 31 show 418 commercial and backyard flocks have been discovered with HPAI in 39 states. To date, the virus has affected 40.57 million birds.