Bird flu outbreak reported in Leake County
A poultry farm in Leake County has been quarantined after poultry from a commercial broiler chicken flock tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza earlier this week, leaving roughly 90,000 chickens affected, state agriculture authorities say.
A Mississippi Board of Animal Health press release issued Thursday said officials have been notified by the Mississippi Poultry Research and Diagnostic Laboratory of the outbreak, which was confirmed on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
Samples from the flock were tested at the MPRDL, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, officials said.
The release did not say where the poultry farm is in Leake County and did not mention if the situation posed any threat to neighboring or nearby farms.
The release did say the State Veterinarian, Dr. James Watson, has quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the property have been depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease.
According to a database managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 90,000 birds were affected.
Birds from the flock have not entered the food system, the release said.
“The MBAH is working closely with federal animal health officials on a joint incident response,” the release said. “The poultry industry was notified and put on high alert to increase biosecurity and surveillance for HPAI. The MBAH is actively working with the industry to increase monitoring of flocks statewide.”
According to the release, hobby poultry owners are encouraged to practice good biosecurity and be aware of the signs of avian influenza and report illness and/or death in the MBAH Online Reporting Form.
Information will be routed to a state or federal veterinarian in Mississippi for assessment. Dead birds should be double‐bagged and refrigerated for possible testing. Signs include sudden death without clinical signs; lack of energy or appetite; decreased egg production; soft-shelled or misshapen eggs; swelling or purple discoloration of head, eyelids, comb, hocks; nasal discharge; coughing; sneezing; incoordination; and diarrhea. A resource for backyard bird health information is online.
This is the second commercial flock to test positive in Mississippi in the past year. The first was detected in November of 2022 in Lawrence County, where 34,000 birds were reported to be affected, according to a database managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
That case was confirmed on Nov. 4, 2022. and cleared on Dec. 1, officials said.
Situation updates and status reports about ongoing avian influenza activities in Mississippi, along with critical disease‐related information, are posted online at www.mbah.ms.gov. Detailed information and resources can be found on the MBAH Avian Influenza page at www.hpai.ms.gov.