A flock of chickens at a commercial poultry breeding operation in Chattooga County in Georgia tested positive on Monday for H7, presumptively low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) because the flock did not show any signs of illness, according to the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
The virus was identified during routine pre-sale screening for the commercial facility and was confirmed as H7 avian influenza by the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. The affected flock has been depopulated. Officials are testing and monitoring other flocks within the surveillance area and no other flocks have tested positive or experienced any clinical signs.
This is the Georgia’s first reported outbreak since recent incidents in neighboring Tennessee and Alabama. Georgia is the nation’s largest commercial broiler breeder with poultry a $25.9 billion-a-year industry employing some 104,000 people.
“Poultry is the top sector of our number one industry, agriculture, and we are committed to protecting the livelihoods of the many farm families that are dependent on it,” said Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black. “In order to successfully do that, it is imperative that we continue our efforts of extensive biosecurity.”
Avian influenza does not pose a risk to the food supply, and no affected birds enter the food chain.
