US farm culls 1,8 million chickens after bird flu outbreak
Almost 1,8 million chickens in Colorado in the US were culled following a serious outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza on a commercial layer farm, prompting authorities there to declare a disaster emergency.
Agriculturedive.com reported that this outbreak in Weld County in north-east Colorado was the largest in the state since 2022.
As the state’s largest agricultural county, with about 850 000ha of land dedicated to farming and raising livestock, the county was also the leader in dairy production, the report stated.
According to Agriculture Dive, the disaster declaration would unlock state resources “necessary to help affected poultry facilities respond to and contain outbreaks”.
The state veterinarian also issued a quarantine order for parts of Weld County to restrict the movement of birds and poultry in and out of the county, a release issued by the state said.
Since 2022, highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, or bird flu as it is commonly known, had infected two humans in the county, in addition to a wide range of animals and birds.
“A Colorado farmworker was treated for bird flu earlier this month in the nation’s fourth case tied to the spread from dairy cattle to humans,” the report said.
The Colorado School of Public Health further reported that the state had the highest incidence of bird flu cases identified on dairy farms than any other state in the US, with almost one quarter of diary operations reporting the virus.
Colorado ranked 13th in the country in terms of milk production, and data from the US Department of Agriculture indicated that 27 herds in the state had tested positive for the virus.
