The first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial poultry flock in Mississippi of 2024 has been confirmed.
Meanwhile, new detections of the virus in Minnesota and California have also been confirmed.
Avian influenza in Mississippi
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported that the presence of HPAI was confirmed in a commercial broiler breeder flock on December 20 in Greene County, Mississippi. There were 26,600 birds in the flock.
Prior to this, the last time HPAI was detected in a commercial poultry flock in Mississippi was February 2023, when the virus was found in a commercial broiler flock in Leake County.
Mississippi has had one commercial flock affected each year during the 2022-24 HPAI outbreak. In November 2022, a broiler breeder flock in Lawrence County.
Avian influenza in California
California continues to be the state with the most flocks affected by HPAI in 2024, as the presence of the virus was confirmed on December 19 in a Stanislaus County commercial egg layer flock. An estimated 295,000 birds were involved.
To date, California has had 38 flocks affected by HPAI in 2024. Of those, six have been in Stanislaus County.
Avian influenza in Minnesota
According to APHIS, three commercial meat turkey flocks in Minnesota have recently been struck by HPAI.
The two largest of those flock infections listed on the APHIS website were confirmed on December 19. Those included a flock of 28,700 turkeys in Fillmore County and a flock of 12,700 turkeys in Stearns County. APHIS also identified a flock of 30 birds in Chippewa County where the presence of HPAI was confirmed on December 20 as commercial meat turkeys.
These new cases bring the number of commercial poultry flocks to be struck by HPAI in 2024 to 24.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
