Commonground
Senior Moderator
Health Alerts
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
Detections in New York
January 28, 2025 - To date, 30 flocks in New York State have tested positive for HPAI since February 2022. The Department is working closely with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on a joint incident response and is also collaborating with partners at the Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the public health risk associated with these avian influenza detections remains low. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses. Birds from the affected flocks have not entered the food system.
Biosecurity
The detections of HPAI in New York prompt reminders for commercial and hobby poultry farmers to increase their biosecurity measures to help prevent the spread of the disease. The Department encourages all poultry producers, from small backyard to large commercial operations, should review their biosecurity plans and take precautions to protect their birds. Poultry biosecurity materials and checklists can be found on the USDA’s “Defend the Flock” website. Best practices include:
To report sick birds, unexplained high number of deaths, or sudden drop in egg production, please contact the Department’s Division of Animal Industry at (518) 457-3502 or the USDA at (866) 536-7593.
HPAI Detections in Commercial and Backyard Flocks by Date
https://agriculture.ny.gov/animals/poultry
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
Detections in New York
January 28, 2025 - To date, 30 flocks in New York State have tested positive for HPAI since February 2022. The Department is working closely with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on a joint incident response and is also collaborating with partners at the Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the public health risk associated with these avian influenza detections remains low. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses. Birds from the affected flocks have not entered the food system.
Biosecurity
The detections of HPAI in New York prompt reminders for commercial and hobby poultry farmers to increase their biosecurity measures to help prevent the spread of the disease. The Department encourages all poultry producers, from small backyard to large commercial operations, should review their biosecurity plans and take precautions to protect their birds. Poultry biosecurity materials and checklists can be found on the USDA’s “Defend the Flock” website. Best practices include:
- Discourage unnecessary visitors and use biosecurity signs to warn people not to enter buildings without permission.
- Ask all visitors if they have had any contact with any birds in the past five days.
- Forbid entry to employees and visitors who own any kind of fowl.
- Require all visitors to cover and disinfect all footwear.
- Lock all entrances to chicken houses after hours.
- Avoid non-essential vehicular traffic on-farm.
- After hauling birds to processors, clean and disinfect poultry transport coops and vehicles before they return to the farm.
- Report anything unusual, especially sick or dead birds, to AGM.
To report sick birds, unexplained high number of deaths, or sudden drop in egg production, please contact the Department’s Division of Animal Industry at (518) 457-3502 or the USDA at (866) 536-7593.
HPAI Detections in Commercial and Backyard Flocks by Date
| Ulster County | January 27, 2025 | Backyard flock (non-poultry) |
| Putnam County | January 24, 2025 | Backyard flock (non-poultry) |
| Suffolk County | January 17, 2025 | Commercial poultry flock |
https://agriculture.ny.gov/animals/poultry