Avian flu causes ‘depopulation’ of 48K chickens in northern Alabama

MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. — Nearly 48,000 birds were depopulated from a northern Alabama chicken farm after a highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) was detected there, state agriculture officials said.

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In a news release on Friday, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries said that the commercial mullet farm in Marshall County was quarantined after samples from the flock were confirmed positive for HPAI.

Officials sent samples to be tested, WHNT-TV reported.

They were tested at the Alabama State Diagnostic Laboratory, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and were confirmed positive at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, Alabama agriculture officials said.

Officials said that approximately 47,900 birds were depopulated to prevent the spread of the flu, according to WAFF-TV.

All poultry within a 6-mile radius of the farm are being tested and monitored, the television station reported.

In a joint statement, ADAI Commissioner Rick Pate and State Veterinarian Tony Frazier said it was “critical” for commercial and backyard poultry operations to closely monitor the health of their birds.

“The HPAI-infected flock in Marshall County reinforces the need to continue following strict biosecurity measures, including keeping birds enclosed without access to wild birds or other domestic flocks,” they said.

HPAI is considered to be low health risk to humans but is highly contagious to birds, including poultry, AL.com reported.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the virus is also not considered to be a threat to food safety because they do not enter the food supply, the news outlet reported.

The virus in Marshall County comes a week after HPAI was confirmed at a gamebird farm in Chilton County, WAFF reported. Nearly 297,000 birds, including pheasants, quail, ducks and chukars, will be depopulated, according to the television station.

It was unclear if the cases at both farms were connected, according to AL.com.