Bird flu has been confirmed in a northwest Georgia commercial poultry operation.
This marks the third confirmed case in a commercial operation and the fifth overall detection in the state this year. Since the nationwide avian influenza outbreak began in 2022, more than 182 million birds have been affected across the country, including 340,000 in Georgia.
It was last Wednesday that the producers noticed clinical signs of Avian Influenza in their flock and contacted the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network (GPLN). Samples were collected on Thursday and transported to the GPLN for testing. A positive HPAI detection was confirmed by GPLN that evening and further confirmed by USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory on Friday.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Management and State Agricultural Response Teams (SART) immediately deployed to the affected premises to conduct depopulation, disposal, cleaning, and disinfection. The affected premises housed approximately 140,000 broilers.
All commercial poultry operations within a six-mile radius have been placed under quarantine and will undergo surveillance testing for a period of at least two weeks.