The presence of the virus in Marshall County comes a week after HPAI was confirmed in an upland gamebird farm in Chilton County. All poultry there – nearly 296,500 birds – were affected and all will be killed by the end of the week, the department said.
It was not immediately clear if the cases at both farms were connected.
Looks like other countries are also dealing with a flu as well, that is recent news. Also pushing for more biosecurity measures and notifications of anomalies.
The outbreak detected in the northwestern state of Sonora killed 15,000 of a flock of 90,000 laying hens, and the remaining birds were slaughtered, the Paris-based WOAH said, citing Mexican authorities.
The ministry also said that the disease had been detected on another farm three kilometers away, which housed 54,000 birds, where disinfection was underway.
Russia, South Africa and parts of Eastern Europe have also reported concentrated outbreaks of the virus in recent months.
It comes after Mexico last year launched a large bird vaccination campaign in high-risk areas, including Sonora, to prevent the spread of H5N1.
Another statement from the Agricultural Ministry last week first announcing the detection of the virus said tests were underway to see if “the vaccine applied last year is effective in confronting the virus that entered in 2023.”
Mexico’s animal safety agency Senascia has urged local farmers to reinforce biosecurity measures on their farms and to immediately notify of any anomaly observed in their animals in order to protect the national poultry production, WOAH added.
Mexico reports first outbreak of H5N1 bird flu on poultry farm