NOXUBEE COUNTY — Poultry in a broiler breeder chicken flock in Noxubee County have tested positive for avian influenza.
Birds from the flock have not entered the food system, according to a Thursday press release from the Mississippi Board of Animal Health.
The State Veterinarian has quarantined the premises, and birds on the property have been “depopulated” to prevent the spread of disease, as a part of a joint response between MBAH and federal animal health officials in Mississippi, the release said.
“It was a four-house farm and all birds were affected,” MBAH Director of Companion Animals and Communications Beth Adcock told The Dispatch in an email. “The National Poultry Improvement Plan and state regulations are already in place. During an outbreak, we have surveillance zones and increased testing frequency is required for those farms.”
Avian influenza is highly pathogenic, meaning it is capable of causing a severe and often deadly disease. In birds, the disease can cause sudden death, lack of energy or appetite, decreased egg production, soft-shelled or misshapen eggs, and other symptoms.
Bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and dairy cows, though it does not normally infect humans. There have been 70 documented human cases of the disease and one death in the United States since 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, many of which have involved dairy and poultry workers.
Currently, the CDC classifies the risk to public health as low. Human cases of bird flu have most often occurred after close or lengthy unprotected contact with infected birds or places their saliva, mucus and feces have touched.
Avian influenza does not present a food safety risk, the MBAH release said. Poultry and eggs are safe to eat when handled and cooked properly. Heating all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 degrees is recommended as a general food safety precaution.
Avian influenza can be prevented in domestic poultry flocks through the practice of biosecurity – preventing contact between domestic and wild birds, according to the MBAH website. Sick or dying birds can also be reported online to MBAH.
The Noxubee flock is the third case of avian influenza in commercial poultry in Mississippi since the spring of 2023, the release said.
But Adcock said the incident is not “necessarily indicative” of an increase in case frequency, since Mississippi is part of the Mississippi Flyway for migratory waterfowl – which are known to carry these kinds of viruses.
“The MBAH is actively working with the poultry industry to increase monitoring of flocks statewide,” the release said. “… Hobby poultry owners are encouraged to practice good biosecurity and be aware of the signs of avian influenza.”
Good biosecurity practices include minimizing visitors and traffic, maintaining farm perimeters and entrances, not sharing vehicles and equipment between farm sites, isolating new animals from herds and flocks for four weeks, monitoring the health of animals every day, giving animals clean, uncontaminated feed and water, routinely cleaning and disinfecting animal housing facilities, vehicles and equipment and others, according to the MBAH website.
Samples from the Noxubee flock in question were tested at the Mississippi Veterinary Research and Diagnostic Laboratory, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and those tests were confirmed at a separate laboratory in Ames, Iowa.
For more information, go to mbah.ms.gov/biosecurity. Other resources are also available online at aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/defend-the-flock/resources.
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