Bird Flu Detected in Yolo County Backyard Poultry Flock
01/23/2025 12:00 PM
PRESS RELEASE
Avian influenza, also known as bird flu and influenza A (H5N1), has been detected in a backyard poultry flock in Yolo County, according to the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency and the Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner. While bird flu has been detected in wild birds in Yolo County since 2022, this is the first detection of bird flu in poultry in the county. Since 2022, bird flu has been detected in 100 commercial flocks and 37 backyard flocks in California, affecting over 23 million birds.
All birds in the affected backyard flock have died or been euthanized, so there is no ongoing risk to other animals or humans. New birds were introduced into the flock from a source in another county days before the birds began exhibiting symptoms, making it likely that the infection was acquired elsewhere and imported into Yolo County
. Yolo County Public Health is monitoring two people exposed to the affected birds; both remain asymptomatic.
-snip-
For more information about bird flu in California, please visit the California Department of Public Health’s Bird Flu
website and the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) on
poultry and
dairy infections. CDFA is the lead agency working with poultry and livestock producers across the state to address the current outbreak. Recently, CDFA placed a ban on poultry and dairy cattle exhibitions at fairs and shows in order to protect the remaining unaffected herds and flocks across California.
Yolo County residents with backyard flocks can obtain more information on how to protect their birds by visiting
www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/Animal_Health/BioSpecies/BioPoultry.html. The wastewater levels of influenza A (H5) in Yolo County are available at
Data.WasteWaterScan.org. Organizations that work with dairy, poultry, or wildlife can request personal protective equipment by contacting
EMSDutyOfficer@YoloCounty.gov.
https://www.yolocounty.gov/Home/Components/News/News/13863/5136