WASHINGTON — Utah State officials and the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) at two turkey farms in Sanpete County.

The two agencies confirmed that more than 140,000 birds would be affected by the virus at the two locations.

“It is unfortunate to see new cases of avian flu in Utah again this year and affecting Utah’s turkey farmers,” said Daniel Christensen, state veterinarian for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF). “Our department is working hard to help this farm handle this situation as quickly and safely as possible.”

UDAF stated that the area where the birds are located was quarantined and infected birds have been depopulated. State and federal partners continue to work together on additional surveillance and testing in areas around the affected flocks.

Earlier in the month, the first commercial poultry case of HPAI since April was reported in South Dakota.

Since the 2022-2023 outbreak began, APHIS numbers from Oct. 10 show that 844 commercial and backyard flocks have been discovered with HPAI in 47 states. To date, the virus has affected 59 million birds.