Agriculture experts are sounding the alarm on avian flu cases in the U.S.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service detected avian influenza in birds in Fulton County, Kentucky and Fauquier County, Virginia.
It has also been detected in five other states, including South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Indiana and Maryland.
The case in Kentucky was detected at a Tyson Foods farm.
The case in Virginia affected a backyard flock of mixed-species birds.
State officials in Kentucky and Virginia have quarantined the premises where the affected birds were located.
The affected birds will be ‘depopulated’ to prevent the spread.
The USDA defines ‘depopulation’ when ‘large numbers of animals must be destroyed in response to an animal health emergency.’
The agency says the welfare of the animals is considered.
This is different from euthanasia, the USDA says.
The outbreaks come after a report of avian influenza at two separate turkey farms and operations facilities in Indiana this month.
The USDA reports that they are not worried about these cases affecting public health at this time.
No human cases have been detected in the U.S.
However, the agency is warning commercial producers to take precautions and monitor wild bird interactions and quarantine birds before they are introduced to the flock.
It is unclear how these recent outbreaks began.
