Bird Flu Found in Ga.

Avian flu has been found in domestic poultry in Georgia.

The Georgia Agriculture Department said that a flock of chickens at a commercial poultry breeding operation located in Chattooga County has tested positive for H7, presumptive low pathogenic avian influenza.

State officials said this is the first confirmation of avian influenza in domestic poultry in Georgia.

According to state ag officials, Avian influenza does not pose a risk to the food supply, and no affected animals entered the food chain, adding that the risk of human infection with avian influenza during poultry outbreaks is very low.

The state said that as a precaution, the affected flock has been depopulated and officials are testing and monitoring other flocks within the surveillance area, noting that no other flocks have tested positive or experienced any clinical signs.
The announcement follows similar confirmations from Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee in recent weeks.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture said the official order prohibiting poultry exhibitions and the assembling of poultry to be sold issued by the state veterinarian’s office on March 16, 2017, remains in effect.

The order prohibits all poultry exhibitions, sales at regional and county fairs, festivals, swap meets, live bird markets, flea markets, and auctions.

Also, the order prohibits the concentration, collection or assembly of poultry of all types, including wild waterfowl from one or more premises for purposes of sale, though shipments of eggs or baby chicks from National Poultry Improvement Plan, Avian Influenza Clean, approved facilities are not affected by this order.

As a result of that order, WNEG is currently not accepting chickens for sale on the Swap Shop until further notice when this ban from the state is lifted.
We appreciate the public’s cooperation in this matter and apologize for any inconvenience.