Georgia, the state with the most chicken production in the country, was the location where a poultry producer was affected by bird flu for the first time since the outbreak that occurred across the entire country in 2022.
Elbert County, which is approximately 100 miles (165 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta, is the location where the Georgia Department of Agriculture made the announcement on Friday that it had discovered a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza at a commercial chicken producer.
All poultry-related events, including exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets, and sales, were put on hold by the agency.
In the past, the virus has only been found in backyard flocks in Georgia, and it was found among thirteen hens and ducks earlier this month in Clayton County, which is located south of Atlanta. Additionally, the virus has been found four times in Georgia.
“This is a serious threat to Georgia’s #1 industry and the livelihoods of thousands of Georgians who make their living in our state’s poultry industry,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper stated in a news release.
At the Elbert County facility, the producer reportedly observed the first clinical signs of bird flu on Wednesday, as stated in the release.
According to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory of the United States Department of Agriculture, a positive viral detection was verified by the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network on Thursday afternoon. When the avian flu was discovered, there were around 45,000 broiler breeders at the location.
In order to “conduct depopulation, cleaning and disinfecting, and disposal operations,” the State Agricultural Response Teams were dispatched to the location on Friday by the Emergency Management division of the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
With a radius of 6.2 miles (10 kilometers), all commercial poultry operations have been placed under quarantine and will be subjected to surveillance testing for a minimum of two weeks.
According to reports from local sites, the president of the Georgia Poultry Federation, Mike Giles, issued a statement on Saturday stating that the organization is working along with state and federal regulators and that there are existing testing procedures in place to ensure that all chicken products that are sold for consumption are edible. Producers in the state are represented by the federation organization.
“That approach to protecting the safety of poultry products produced in Georgia will continue throughout this response and beyond” Giles stated.
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In order to prevent any unlawful access to the operation, which may lead to a larger spread of the disease, and to protect the farmer from harassment, the Georgia Department of Agriculture does not provide the name of an afflicted site when an animal disease breaks out, according to a representative for the division.
The bird flu has been spreading around the world, resulting in the deaths of millions of wild and domestic birds, in addition to other species, over the course of the past two years.
There were 10.7 million birds on those locations, according to the most recent online data that was given by the United States Department of Agriculture.
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The virus was found in 84 commercial and backyard flocks across the country in the past month. There have also been scores of dairy farms that have confirmed its presence.
Although human cases of bird flu are uncommon and are most commonly detected among farmworkers, there has been one fatality associated with the disease. The deceased individual was a Louisiana man who was over the age of 65 and was hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms.
