Five months after Hoosier agriculture officials declared Indiana's devastating bird flu outbreak over, a new suspected case has landed in the northeast corner of the state.
The Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) announced Thursday it has quarantined a LaGrange County commercial breeder flock of 2,617 ducks due to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as bird flu.
It's Indiana's first bird flu poultry quarantine since May, when a Porter County backyard/hobby flock of 360 chickens had to be depopulated after testing positive for HPAI, records show.
Statewide, more than 8 million egg-laying chickens, turkeys and ducks have been destroyed so far this year due to HPAI — endangering Indiana's poultry industry and causing the price of eggs to soar nationwide.
Despite calling an end to the outbreak in the spring, BOAH repeatedly warned that Indiana's HPAI-free status was 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.
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.
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