Breaking Down the HPAI Outbreak
Highly pathogenic avian influenza was first detected in wild birds in South Carolina on Jan. 13 of this year. Poultry growers, remembering well the 2014-2015 outbreak, collectively held their breath, hoping that the second shoe – outbreaks in commercial and backyard flocks – wouldn’t drop. Unfortunately, despite advanced biosafety protocols, the first outbreak in domesticated birds was detected on Feb. 8. Through April 7, USDA has announced more than 600 detections in wild birds across 31 states and 158 detections in commercial and backyard flocks across 25 states. The spread has many concerned that we may have an outbreak similar to the 2014-2015 outbreak on our hands. But how does the current outbreak really compare to the 2014-2015 outbreak? We dig in here.
