Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Found in a Sacramento County Backyard Flock; New Wild-Bird Detections Reported
SACRAMENTO — A backyard flock in Sacramento County, California, has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), state officials confirmed on October 19, with additional new detections reported in wild birds. As the fall bird-migration season gets under way, health and agriculture officials are urging poultry owners to take extra precautions.
According to a June update from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to poultry producers, California had gone several months without HPAI detections in commercial or backyard poultry flocks and had met the criteria to self-declare freedom from HPAI in poultry on April 17, with only minimal detections in wildlife. The Sacramento County detection marks the virus's return to California domestic flocks during migration season, and the state says monitoring will continue.
Clinical signs of HPAI in poultry published by CDFA include sudden death, trouble breathing, lethargy, decreased food and water intake, a sharp drop in egg production, and swelling or discoloration of the head and wattles. The department's published biosecurity guidance calls for keeping domestic birds separated from wild birds, especially waterfowl, preventing wild birds from accessing poultry feed and water, and cleaning and disinfecting before entering poultry areas. Unusual sick or dead poultry can be reported to the CDFA Sick Bird Hotline at (866) 922-2473, and unusual wild-bird deaths can be reported online to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Officials say the overall risk to the general public remains low, an assessment CDFA attributes to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eggs and poultry are safe to eat when thoroughly cooked. (GSM, based on The Desert Sun and California Department of Food and Agriculture materials)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 庭院饲养的鸡（示意资料图，非本次疫情现场）。Tseenster 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布。A backyard chicken (illustrative file photo, not the affected flock). Photo by Tseenster, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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