Health officials say they have detected a strain of the bird flu in Kentucky and Virginia indicating a spread of the influenza after 30,000 turkeys were euthanized on an Indiana farm last week after it was discovered among the population.
In a statement on Monday, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the presence of bird flu in a flock of commercial broiler chickens in Fulton County, Kentucky, and a backyard flock of mixed-species birds in Fauquier County, Virginia.
APHIS said in a statement the chickens in the two infected flocks will be quarantined and killed off, adding that no human cases of the virus have been detected in the U.S. yet.
“APHIS is working closely with state animal health officials in Kentucky and Virginia on joint incident responses. State officials quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the properties will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Depopulation is complete in Virginia. Birds from the flocks will not enter the food system,” the agency said in its statement.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these avian influenza detections do not present an immediate public health concern.
Mexico joined other countries last week that banned or limited poultry imports from Indiana due to the flu virus being detected in the state, according to Bloomberg News.