United States: HPAI in Alabama and Michigan put animal health officials on high alert

Information from the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries (ADAI) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed that HPAI was found on a commercial broiler farm in Cullman County and in a backyard flock in Pickens County. Samples from those flocks were tested and confirmed at the Alabama State Diagnostic Laboratory in Auburn, Ala., which is part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. Rick Pate, commissioner for ADAI, and Tony Frazier, DVM, the state veterinarian, published a statement about prevention plans. “It is critical for commercial and backyard poultry operations to remain alert and closely monitor the health of their poultry,” Pate and Frazier wrote. “The detection of HPAI in Cullman and Pickens Counties reinforces the need to continue following strict biosecurity measures, including keeping birds enclosed without access to wild birds or other domestic flocks.” All poultry within 6.2 miles of the commercial site in Cullman will ...