Backyard Flock Missouri’s Sixth Positive HPAI Case

A backyard pen of birds in Northwest Missouri is the latest to undergo depopulation following a confirmed positive case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.  According to the Missouri Department of Agriculture website, a non-commercial, non-poultry pen of 113 birds in Gentry County was the sixth location in the state to test positive for the highly contagious virus that is often fatal to poultry.  HPAI has continued to spread across the Midwest, with additional cases detected in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota over the weekend.  While HPAI is highly contagious among birds, the present virus has not mutated to infect people, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the risk to the general public from these infections to be low.  Tips on how to protect poultry flocks from infection are available on the Missouri Department of Agriculture website.