A commercial turkey farm northeast of Muncie in Jay County, Indiana has tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), according to the Indiana State Board of Animal Health. State officials say the farm has 20,560 birds and is under quarantine. The name of the specific farm affected was not identified.
It is the first time since January 2024 that a major commercial flock of poultry in Indiana (Daviess County) has had a positive test.
Federal officials with USDA add that Avian influenza does not present a food safety risk, and that cooked poultry and eggs and pasteurized dairy products remain safe to eat.
The state has set up a control area within a 10-kilometer (6.2 mile) radius around the farm, which contains portions of Jay and Adams counties in Indiana. In addition, the state has set up a surveillance zone with a 20-kilometer (12.4 mile) radius around the farm which also contains portions of Jay and Adams counties. Testing will be done at nearby flocks to determine whether HPAI has spread. USDA Wildlife Services and Indiana Department of Natural Resources are assisting with surveillance of wild birds in and near the control areas.
Lactating dairy cattle must have a negative test before interstate movement under a federal order. USDA has expanded surveillance through testing milk at the farm or processor level to establish the health status of herds, as well as states.
HPAI has been identified on more than 1,300 premises in all 50 states since February 2022. Wild birds infected with HPAI have been found from coast to coast in various species, including waterfowl (ducks, swans, geese, gulls, etc.), raptors (hawks and eagles), as well as other common species (American robin, common raven, wild turkey). Many other mammalian species, including humans, dairy cattle and wildlife, have also been diagnosed with the virus.
The current, ongoing HPAI event is the United States’ largest animal health emergency in history.
Since HPAI was first identified on a commercial poultry farm in DuBois County, Indiana in February 2022, it has affected 243.841 commercial turkeys, 17,703 commercial ducks, and 527 non-commercial poultry.
Indiana ranks fourth in the nation in turkey production according to the USDA. The state also ranks first in the U.S. for duck production, and third for egg production. Indiana’s poultry industry directly employs more than 12,700 Hoosiers and contributes more than $18.3 billion in total economic activity to the state.
