North Carolina’s poultry industry is back in business on the global stage after the World Organization for Animal Health declared the state free of High Path Avian Influenza (HPAI) on Monday. The decision reopens vital export markets for the state’s $5.6 billion broiler industry, which raises 941 million birds annually.
A bird flu outbreak of the deadly H7N9 strain has been confirmed at a poultry farm in Noxubee, Mississippi. This marks the first outbreak of this specific strain since 2017, according to Fox News.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that the H5N1 avian influenza virus has been detected in black rats in Riverside County, California.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture announced the state’s first confirmed case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in domestic poultry on Monday.