A commercial turkey farm in Daviess County has tested positive for avian flu. The flock of 13,071 birds is under quarantine and marks the first commercial outbreak in Indiana in more than a year.
Denise Derrer Spears, public information director for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, said this disease has been affecting commercial and hobby birds since early 2022.
“In the last couple of years, we have seen over 1,000 farms across the country and 47 states that have been impacted,” she said. “So it hasn't gone away, it just hasn't been prevalent in Indiana.”
This strain often spreads during migration seasons, when birds such as migratory waterfowl or ducks carry the disease over long distances and spread it via their droppings.
The state has set up a 10km control area and includes 45 commercial flocks and 48 hobby/backyard flocks, and a 20km surveillance zone that includes parts of Daviess, Martin and Greene counties.
Derrer Spears said that, though the disease showing up again in Indiana is unfortunate, it does not pose a food safety risk.
“Folks don't have to worry about their eggs or their chicken or any of their poultry meat at the grocery store because before any of that goes to processing to get packaged to the store, all of those flocks get tested and only healthy birds go on our food supply,” she said.
The Board of Animal Health is offering free testing of the disease on small flocks for concerned bird owners.
