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Mississippi - Avian flu in poultry 2024-2026

Pathfinder

Editor, Senior Moderator
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Greene County, Mississippi
/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greene_County,_Mississippi

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https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestoc...za/hpai-detections/commercial-backyard-flocks
 
Mississippi Board of Animal Health
December 23, 2024

Excerpt:
...On Monday morning, MBAH said they notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory that poultry from the breeder has tested positive for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza.​...
-snip-

Hobby poultry owners are encouraged to practice good biosecurity, be aware of the signs of bird flu and report illness and/or death in birds in the MBAH Online Reporting Form. The information will be taken to a state or federal veterinarian in Mississippi for assessment.

Dead birds should be double-bagged and refrigerated for possible testing. Precautions should be taken when handling sick or dead birds including proper handwashing, using gloves, wearing masks and sanitation of surfaces that come into contact with sick or dead birds to prevent the spread of bird flu to people.

According to MBAH, bird flu in birds can cause the following:
  • Sudden death
  • Lack of energy or appetite
  • Decreased egg production
  • Soft-shelled or misshapen eggs
  • Swelling or purple discoloration of head, eyelids, comb, hocks
  • Nasal discharge
  • Coughing
  • Sneezing
  • Incoordination
  • Diarrhea
​Resources for backyard bird health can be found HERE.

Biosecurity information and resources can be found HERE.

Situation updates and status reports about ongoing bird flu activities in Mississippi, along with critical disease-related information, will be posted online HERE.

https://www.wdam.com/2024/12/23/bird-flu-found-chicken-flock-greene-county-report-says/
 
MS Board of Animal Health confirms bird flu case in Noxubee Co.
6 minutes ago


NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The Mississippi Board of Animal Health has reported a case of the Bird Flu in Noxubee County.

According to the CDC, Bird Flu is a disease caused by avian influenza, a virus that usually spreads between birds.
​-snip-
More details are expected to be released by the Mississippi Board of Animal Health.

https://www.wcbi.com/ms-board-of-animal-health-confirms-bird-flu-case-in-noxubee-co/
 
Last edited:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 12, 2025

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Diagnosed in Mississippi Poultry Flock

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Board of Animal Health (MBAH) has been notified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory that poultry from a commercial broiler breeder chicken flock in Noxubee County, Mississippi has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. Samples from the flock were tested at the Mississippi Veterinary Research & Diagnostic

Laboratory, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.

Avian influenza does not present a food safety risk; poultry and eggs are safe to eat when handled and cooked properly. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the public health risk associated with avian influenza in birds remains low. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F is recommended as a general food safety precaution.

SITUATION: The State Veterinarian has quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the property

have been depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock have not entered the food

system. The MBAH is working closely with federal animal health officials in Mississippi on a joint incident response.

continued: https://www.hpai.ms.gov/wp-content/...za-Diagnosed-in-Mississippi-Poultry-Flock.pdf
 
Mississippi BAH: HPAI H7N9 Outbreak Reported In A Commercial Chicken Flock in Noxubee County

Mississippi BAH: HPAI H7N9 Outbreak Reported In A Commercial Chicken Flock in Noxubee County


AVvXsEgyWFZd39ezqxeRLJAuQAC5WB0f8zVLH0pChl8hEsYvPGp7Vrx8KuRZzN4wPtsnT3psvDtvG9U2AVu0HeSbY2N3Lf5uHIOTjHngQ9fp6abmFgoLriumHdndIW17YpYsBD2qdc5tV_WEU-39wdZiAuA7D4tN9O_uAQD1vvsl8cD7VDD4Pm1M7iQAQw=w247-h320


#18,376

In March of 2017 (see graphic above) we followed a handful of outbreaks of a genetically distinct North American (NA) lineage avian H7N9 virus (both LPAI & HPAI) across four southern states; Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky (see here, here, and here).

Despite sharing the same HA/NA designation as their more famous (and far more dangerous) Chinese counterpart - these North American viruses are considered to currently pose a relatively low threat to human health.​


LPAI (Low path) H7 or H5 viruses - which are ubiquitous in wild birds - can sometimes make their way into a poultry flock, where they spread, evolve, and occasionally spontaneously mutate into highly pathogenic (HPAI) viruses.

AVvXsEineRjN4YN00Bitvy--1SCVs0JVBPQuO5avBwF-_LwTyIuRhNubvPcgVSbDNOZySoqkNG94ZlTJMNZynlKQDCKyBViRaVZWEpl6-MVyKVp6nhn1wjQOPYv7fHR4lfms_186Kzl0YvvCU3REPR0IMWGOLCUQ-zmS1kQuDILqb4s536aw9HcNh1FNPw=w426-h169



Our understanding of how this happens is limited, and is based primarily on observations from dozens of documented incidents in poultry, but it prompted the OIE (now WOAH) to make LPAI H5 and H7 viruses reportable in 2006, and infected captive birds subject to immediate eradication (see Terrestrial Animal Code Article 10.4.1.).


Last week the Mississippi Board of Animal Health reported an outbreak of HPAI in a commercial chicken flock from Noxubee County, which borders Alabama.
Remarkably, this report never specifies the subtype.​


A report was also published by WOAH which indicated the affected flock to be 47654 birds and identifies the subtype as HPAI H7N9.
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 12, 2025
Contact: Beth Adcock, Mississippi Board of Animal Health
769-798-3137

beth@mdac.ms.gov / msstatevet@mdac.ms.gov

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Board of Animal Health (MBAH) has been notified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory that poultry from a commercial broiler breeder chicken flock in Noxubee County, Mississippi has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. Samples from the flock were tested at the Mississippi Veterinary Research & Diagnostic Laboratory, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.

Avian influenza does not present a food safety risk; poultry and eggs are safe to eat when handled and cooked properly. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the public health risk associated with avian influenza in birds remains low. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F is recommended as a general food safety precaution.

SITUATION: The State Veterinarian has quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the property have been depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock have not entered the food system. The MBAH is working closely with federal animal health officials in Mississippi on a joint incident response.

The MBAH is actively working with the poultry industry to increase monitoring of flocks statewide. This finding is the third case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry in Mississippi since the spring of 2023. Since November 2024, HPAI has been detected in migratory waterfowl in multiple areas of Mississippi. The poultry industry was notified and put on high alert to increase biosecurity and surveillance for HPAI.

REPORTING: Hobby poultry owners are encouraged to practice good biosecurity and be aware of the signs of avian influenza and report illness and/or death in birds in the MBAH Online Reporting Form https://agnet.mdac.ms.gov/MBAHReportablePublic/birddeathlanding.

Information will be routed to a state or federal veterinarian in Mississippi for assessment. Dead birds should be double‐bagged and refrigerated for possible testing. Precautions should be taken when handling sick or dead birds including proper handwashing, using gloves, wearing masks, and sanitation of surfaces that come into contact with sick or dead birds to prevent the spread of avian influenza to people.


Avian influenza in birds can cause sudden death; lack of energy or appetite; decreased egg production; soft-shelled or misshapen eggs; swelling or purple discoloration of head, eyelids, comb, hocks; nasal discharge; coughing; sneezing; incoordination; and diarrhea. A resource for backyard bird health information is online at: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-diseaseinformation/avian/defend-the-flock-program/dtf-resources/dtf-resources.
Biosecurity information and resources can be found by visiting: https://www.mbah.ms.gov/biosecurity/.

UPDATES and INFORMATION: Updates about ongoing avian influenza activities in Mississippi, along with critical disease‐related information, will be posted online at:
https://www.hpai.ms.gov/.





As we've seen previously in the United States - and have recently seen in Australia - HPAI H7 outbreaks in poultry can be difficult to contain.

While H7 viruses are generally thought of as being less of a threat than H5 viruses - and primarily an agricultural concern - we've seen some notable exceptions.
NYC's 2016 dramatic H7N2 outbreak in hundreds of cats, and spillover into animal shelter workers (see J Infect Dis: Serological Evidence Of H7N2 Infection Among Animal Shelter Workers, NYC 2016) - and a 2018 report of a severe H7N4 infection out of China - further highlight the risks.
For now, the HPAI H7N9 virus reported in Mississippi show no signs of posing any kind of serious public health threat.





But, as with all influenza viruses with zoonotic potential, that status quo can always change.

https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2025/03/mississippi-bah-hpai-h7n9-outbreak.html
 
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI BOARD OF ANIMAL HEALTH
JAMES WATSON STATE VETERINARIAN

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 17, 2025

Contact: Beth Adcock, Mississippi Board of Animal Health 769-798-3137 beth@mdac.ms.govmsstatevet@mdac.ms.gov

H7N9 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Diagnosed in Mississippi Poultry Flock

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Board of Animal Health (MBAH) has been notified by the U.S.

Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory that poultry from a commercial

broiler breeder chicken flock in Noxubee County tested positive for H7N9 highly pathogenic avian

influenza (HPAI).

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has previously documented H7N9 low

pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) in U.S. wild bird surveillance this year and in previous years, but

this is the first HPAI H7 case in commercial poultry in the United States since 2017.


This H7N9 virus is a fully North American (AM) virus of wild bird-origin and is unrelated to the

Eurasian H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b virus currently circulating in the United States. Some AM H7 LPAI viruses

detected as part of APHIS’ wild bird surveillance are closely related to this HPAI virus, indicating a

recent spillover of wild bird-origin LPAI virus.

The flock was experiencing high mortality, and samples tested at the Mississippi Veterinary Research &

Diagnostic Laboratory, a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, were presumptive

positive for HPAI then confirmed as H7N9 at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories

(NVSL).

The state veterinarian quarantined the premises, and the MBAH coordinated a joint incident response

with federal animal health officials in Mississippi. The birds on the property were depopulated to prevent

the spread of the disease. Birds did not enter the food system.

The MBAH is actively working with federal partners and the poultry industry to increase monitoring of

flocks statewide.

This finding is the third case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry in

Mississippi since the spring of 2023. Since November 2024, HPAI has been detected in migratory

waterfowl in multiple areas of Mississippi.


Avian influenza does not present a food safety risk; poultry and eggs are safe to eat when handled and

cooked properly. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the public

health risk associated with avian influenza in birds remains low. As a reminder, the proper handling and

cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F is recommended as a general food

safety precaution.

Biosecurity remains the most effective tool against the introduction and spread of avian influenza.

Visit APHIS’ Defend the Flock Resource Center for additional materials about biosecurity, including

videos, checklists, and a toolkit. Biosecurity information can also be found by visiting:

https://www.mbah.ms.gov/biosecurity/.

Hobby poultry owners are encouraged to practice good biosecurity and be aware of the signs of avian

influenza and report illness and/or death in birds in the MBAH Online Reporting Form

https://agnet.mdac.ms.gov/MBAHReportablePublic/birddeathlanding.

Updates about ongoing avian influenza activities in Mississippi, along with critical disease‐related

information, will be posted online at: https://www.hpai.ms.gov/.

https://www.hpai.ms.gov/wp-content/...H7N9-Diagnosed-in-Poultry-Flock-3_17_2025.pdf
 
[On March. 12, Noxubee County​ also reported H5N1 in poultry. Both were Broiler Breeder poultry farms. We know that for the H7N9 outbreak "The outbreak began on March 8 when clinical signs were noticed, including increased deaths. Depopulation of 47,654 birds at the facility was completed on March 13." (Cidrap), I was not able to obtain a date of onset, or a date of completing of the culling for the March 12, H5N1 outbreak]]

https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...lu-in-poultry-2024-2025?p=1009654#post1009654
 
APHIS Confirms H7N9 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a U.S. Flock

workers-ppe-poultry-facility-adobe-194670297.jpeg

On March 12, APHIS confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H7N9 in a broiler chicken breeder flock in Mississippi. APHIS has previously documented H7 low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) in U.S. wild bird surveillance this year and in previous years, but this is the first HPAI H7 case in commercial poultry in the United States since 2017.

This H7N9 virus is a fully North American (AM) virus of wild bird-origin and is unrelated to the Eurasian H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b virus currently circulating in the United States. Some AM H7 LPAI viruses detected as part of APHIS’ wild bird surveillance are closely related to this HPAI virus, indicating a recent spillover of wild bird-origin LPAI virus. Spillovers of avian influenza from wild bird sources can occur due to breaches in biosecurity. APHIS closely monitors these subtypes because H5 and H7 LPAI viruses in poultry species such as chickens and turkeys can mutate into HPAI

The flock of roughly 46,000 birds was experiencing high mortality, and samples tested at the Mississippi Veterinary Research & Diagnostic Laboratory, a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, were presumptive positive for HPAI then confirmed at APHIS’ National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL).

As part of existing avian influenza response plans, Federal and State partners are working jointly on additional surveillance and testing in areas around the affected flock. USDA will report these findings to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) as well as international trading partners. USDA also continues to communicate with trading partners to encourage adherence to WOAH standards and minimize trade impacts.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the public health risk associated with these avian influenza detections in birds remains low. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F is recommended as a general food safety precaution.

Biosecurity remains the most effective tool against the introduction and spread of avian influenza. Visit APHIS’ Defend the Flock Resource Center for additional materials about biosecurity, including videos, checklists, and a toolkit.


https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/pro...ghly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-hpai-us-flock
 
Related to the post above:

Amite-County-HPAI-2-4-2026

by Jason Price | Feb 4, 2026

Amite-County-HPAI-2-4-2026

Excerpt:

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Diagnosed in Mississippi Poultry Flock

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Board of Animal Health (MBAH) has been notified by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory that poultry from a commercial
broiler chicken flock in Amite County, Mississippi has tested positive for highly pathogenic H5 avian
influenza.
Samples from the flock were tested at the Mississippi Veterinary Research & Diagnostic
Laboratory, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed at the APHIS
National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.

Avian influenza does not present a food safety risk; poultry and eggs are safe to eat when handled and
cooked properly. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the public
health risk associated with avian influenza in birds remains low. As a reminder, the proper handling and
cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F is recommended as a general food
safety precaution.

SITUATION: The State Veterinarian has quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the property
have been depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock have not entered the food
system.
The MBAH is working closely with federal animal health officials in Mississippi on a joint
incident response.

The MBAH is actively working with the poultry industry to increase monitoring of flocks statewide. This
finding is the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry in Mississippi
since the spring of 2025.
The poultry industry was notified and put on high alert to increase biosecurity
and surveillance for HPAI.
...

https://www.mbah.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/Amite-County-HPAI-2-4-2026.pdf

...​
 
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