Indiana's four-year bird flu outbreak is over — for now.
The Indiana State Board of Animal Health this week certified Indiana has no known pending or recent cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in commercial or hobby flocks of chicken, turkey or ducks.
As a result, Indiana poultry and poultry products no longer are subject to a number of export restrictions and international trade barriers aimed at minimizing the spread of HPAI.
BOAH notes, however, that Indiana's HPAI-free status is not an "all clear" or an invitation for Hoosier poultry producers and owners to let down their guard on biosecurity and other bird flu prevention measures.
The agency said HPAI still is active in other parts of the United States and HPAI consistently has been found in wild birds traversing Indiana.
"Steps should be taken to minimize wild bird exposure to poultry as much as possible," BOAH said. "HPAI has also been found in several other species of wild and captive mammals across the country."
According to BOAH, the first bird flu case in the nation during the 2022 to 2025 outbreak was diagnosed in February 2022 in a turkey flock located in Indiana's Dubois County.
Altogether, Indiana had 34 commercial poultry flocks and 11 small/hobby flocks test positive for HPAI in 20 counties over the past four years, including 27 bird flu cases diagnosed this year. Indiana has not detected HPAI in any livestock, BOAH said.
During that period, BOAH data show more than 8 million infected egg laying chickens were destroyed in Indiana — causing egg prices to soar in the Hoosier State and across the country.
Another 351,000 infected turkeys, more than 37,000 infected ducks and some 1,100 non-commercial birds also were killed to try to halt the spread of bird flu, according to BOAH.
Records show the final bird flu infection in the state was a Porter County backyard/hobby flock of 360 chickens that tested positive for HPAI May 2. A separate Jasper County hobby flock of 90 birds also was depopulated after testing positive for HPAI in February.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asserts the public health risk for HPAI is low. It's possible for humans to contract HPAI, though no cases have been confirmed in Indiana, according to the State Department of Health.
Bird flu does not present a food safety risk. BOAH says cooked poultry and eggs and pasteurized dairy products are safe to eat.