KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The highly pathogenic avian influenza, known as HPAI, has been detected in Franklin County, Kansas.
Its presence was confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in a noncommercial backyard mixed-species poultry flock, according to a Kansas Department of Agriculture release.
In the release, the department stated samples of the flock were tested at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Results were then confirmed at the USDA-APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
As a result of HPAI being found in the Franklin County flock, KDA has quarantined the affected premises and will depopulate the birds to prevent possible spread of disease.
“Anyone involved with poultry production from the small backyard chicken owner to the large commercial producer should review their biosecurity activities to assure the health of their birds,” KDA said in the release.
RESOURCES: Biosecurity, current HPAI status nationwide
KDA first announced HPAI had been detected in central Kansas on Wednesday.
Since then, the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City announced the closing of its walk-through aviary flight to public access until further notice.
In Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday, the Kansas City Zoo announced it will relocate several types of birds to behind-the-scenes areas to prevent contact with wild waterfowl.
Wild birds like ducks and geese are natural carriers of viruses, and with the possibility of an HPAI outbreak devastating a flock, precautions are being taken to prevent as much bird-to-bird contact as possible.
And while the highly transmissible respiratory infection can be quite severe and deadly to birds, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has categorized the risk to the U.S. general public’s health as low.
