Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI or bird flu) is a contagious poultry virus that has caused significant financial losses to the U.S. poultry industry and disruptions to the nation’s supply of eggs and poultry meat.
The highly pathogenic strain, H5N1, has been circulating in the U.S. since February 2022, resulting in the loss of over 148 million birds in nearly 1,500 commercial and backyard flocks.
This is the nation’s largest animal health emergency. Waterfowl, both wild and domestic, act as the primary carriers, which can spread the virus to other wild bird and domestic poultry populations. Wild waterfowl regularly carry low pathogenic strains of the virus, but it can easily mutate to a highly pathogenic strain, as we’ve seen with this outbreak. The disease has spread to mammalian and avian scavengers that feed on the carcasses of dead, infected wild waterfowl. It has also been found to spread to poultry from infected dairy cattle.
Birds infected with HPAI may show one or more of the following symptoms:
- Sudden death without clinical signs
- Lack of energy and appetite
- Decreased egg production or soft-shelled or misshapen eggs
- Swelling of head, comb, eyelid, wattles and hocks
- Purple discoloration of wattles, comb and legs
- Nasal discharge, coughing and sneezing
- Discoordination
- Diarrhea
Multiple poultry deaths without any clinical signs or weather impacts is known to be an almost sure sign of the virus. Regardless of how the disease presents, a large portion of the birds in a flock will be affected. In some cases, most of the flock will die within a few days.
Keeping Your Flock Safe
While most biosecurity protocols during outbreaks of HPAI recommend keeping birds indoors and under solid cover, this is not an option for many who raise their poultry either on open pasture or in semi-covered mobile coops. However, the guidelines below can be incorporated into biosecurity plans to help keep your birds safe:
- Protect against exposure to wild birds or water or ground contaminated by wild birds. Make common-sense decisions about where pastured and free ranged poultry are housed. Fields or other open areas that are frequented by wild birds, especially waterfowl, are at higher risk. Keep your birds away from streams, ponds, and other water sources that wild birds frequent.
- Keep feed and water inside to limit wild bird and rodent access. Rodents don’t become infected but can carry contamination on their bodies.
- Close bird areas to nonessential personnel or vehicles to limit the number of people potentially bringing disease onto the property.
- Provide bird caretakers with clean clothing and disinfection facilities and directions for their use. This is especially important if they have poultry or dairy cattle at home or work at another poultry or dairy facility. Clean and sanitized shoes are especially important. If this can’t be done, boot covers are helpful.
- Thoroughly clean and disinfect equipment and vehicles, including tires and undercarriage, when entering or leaving the farm.
- Stop visits to other poultry farms, exhibitions, fairs, sales or swap meets. If visits must occur, direct poultry caretakers to change footwear and clothing upon their return.
Many of these tips and more can be found on the CCE Madison website at www.ccemadison.org.
If you think you have the disease on your property, report it!
If your birds are sick or dying, it’s important to report it immediately so that we can stop the spread to any other flocks. In New York State, you can call your local CCE office or the NYS Department of Ag & Markets at 518.457.3502.
