A strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in Michigan in a non-commercial backyard flock of birds in Kalamazoo County, federal authorities said Thursday.
Samples from the flock were tested at Michigan State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
State officials have quarantined the Kalamazoo County site and the 34 birds at that property “will be depopulated to prevent the spread of disease,” the USDA said, noting that birds from that flock will not enter the food system. Delaware and Michigan are the latest states to report cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed.
According to the CDC, birds can catch the flu when they come into contact with the “saliva, nasal secretions or feces” of an infected bird. The flu is considered to be “very contagious among birds” and has the potential to kill certain domesticated species like chickens and turkeys.
Although human cases of avian viruses are rare, some have been reported, the CDC said. Humans can become infected when enough of the virus gets into their eyes, nose, or mouth. Humans cannot get the disease from poultry or eggs that are properly handled and cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, the USDA said. Once a person is infected, symptoms range from conjunctivitis, fever, diarrhea, and vomiting to severe respiratory illness and neurological changes, the CDC said.
Over the past decade, the bird flu has become more common and spread to more places across the world, the CDC said. Since the start of 2022, multiple states, including Maine, New York, Virginia and South Carolina, have detected the virus. In Indiana, more than 150,000 birds have been affected by the virus, according to the Indiana Board of Animal Health.
