Less than a week after a highly contagious strain of bird flu was found in a Georgia commercial poultry facility for the first time, a second and even larger flock nearby has tested positive for the virus, state agriculture officials said Wednesday.
The virus, the H5N1 strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, has ravaged wild birds, commercial poultry and some mammal species for more than two years across the U.S. during an unprecedented outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the risk to humans from H5N1 is low, but public health officials fear that the virus has the potential to morph into a pandemic. In the meantime, it has also caused widespread disruption to poultry, egg and dairy farms in other states.
Georgia has had sporadic confirmed infections in wild birds and some backyard flocks, but until now, the state’s powerhouse poultry industry had managed to dodge the virus.
Like the first, the second case also occurred in Elbert County, about 35 miles northeast of Athens. Georgia Department of Agriculture spokesman Matthew Agvent described the area as a “poultry dense” part of the state, with 120 other poultry farms within a 10-mile radius of the affected facilities.
The second detection was found on Jan. 17 during “routine, pre-movement” testing by the Georgia Poultry Lab Network, but was not confirmed by a U.S. Department of Agriculture lab until late Tuesday, the GDA said.
The flock where the virus was found was located about 210 yards from premises where the first infection was confirmed last week in a flock of 45,000 birds, the GDA said. The new case occurred in a flock of 130,000 birds, all of which were culled to contain the spread, GDA officials confirmed Wednesday.
The close proximity of the flocks allowed Georgia agriculture officials to respond to both cases at the same time, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said in a statement. The agency said “depopulation” of the birds in both facilities was completed within 48 hours of the Jan. 17 detection, but added that disposal and disinfection is still in progress. In the meantime, the GDA said its law enforcement officers are maintaining a secure perimeter around the affected premises.
In a statement, Harper stressed that bird flu “remains a serious threat to our state’s economy, Georgia’s No. 1 industry, and the health and safety of poultry in our state,” and thanked staff who he said have been working in the bitter cold.
Georgia is the country’s top producer of broiler chickens and the state’s industry that is worth an estimated $6.7 billion, according to a University of Georgia analysis based on 2022 data, the most recent year available.
Other measures state officials announced in response to the first detection last week will remain in place, GDA said.
All commercial poultry operations within a 6.2.-mile or 10-kilometer radius will remain under quarantine for at least two weeks, with additional surveillance testing. Since the two poultry facilities were located in close proximity, GDA said they were not expanding the quarantine perimeter.
After the first detection last week, the GDA announced a statewide suspension of all poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets, and sales. A ban on those activities will remain in effect indefinitely.
But retail sales of chicken and eggs are not impacted. In a news release Saturday, Harper stressed that the state’s food supply is safe.
“Every Georgian can and should have 100% confidence in the safety and security of poultry products offered for sale in the state of Georgia,” Harper said.
Georgia has not had any confirmed cases of H5N1 in cattle or humans, but a stream of concerning news about the virus has been pouring out of other states.
Earlier this month, a patient in Louisiana died from H5N1, becoming the first death in the U.S. from the virus. California also recently declared a state of emergency in response to an explosive outbreak in dairy cattle. Meanwhile, scientists say there are signs the virus may be changing in ways that could allow it to spread more easily to humans
GDA officials have urged Georgia poultry producers to closely monitor their flocks and report any unusual symptoms they observe. Clinical signs of bird flu infection in avian species include lethargy, loss of appetite, discolored combs and feet, and sudden death without signs of disease.
