A small backyard poultry flock has tested positive for the avian flu in Johnson County — the first non-commercial poultry flock in the state.
Officials with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health confirmed Tuesday that the flock of 41 chickens, ducks and peafowl in the Bargersville area tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza. The Board of Animal Health says the site has been quarantined and will be depopulated.
Animal health officials are currently testing flocks nearby to verify that the virus has not spread in the area. A control area and surveillance zone will be established in Johnson County to meet surveillance criteria.
The affected area does not include any large commercial operations, according to the Board of Animal Health. The virus does not pose any threats to people, said Denise Derrer Spears, public information director for the board.
“The Centers of Disease Control (and Prevention) have said this is very low-risk to people; it’s a flu virus, and there’s no food safety risks, so you can still eat eggs and chicken and turkey meat,” she said.
Officials will be reaching out to residents near the Johnson County site to schedule testing of birds to ensure the virus is not present. Hobby poultry owners in Johnson County should contact Board of Animal Health at 317-544-2387 to schedule testing at no charge.
“We know of 61 sites in the past who have had poultry in that general area. We’ll be reaching out to some of them for testing, and we do that at no charge,” Derrer Spears said.
The current H5N1 bird flu viruses were first identified in Europe during the fall of 2020 and spread across the globe by fall of 2021. These viruses have been spreading in wild birds in much of the world and causing sporadic poultry infections and poultry outbreaks in many countries, most recently the United States.
Thirty states have reported bird flu cases in wild birds, and commercial and backyard poultry cases have been confirmed in 29 states. State officials have received 220 samples from wild birds across Indiana, with four testing positive for avian flu. One of those was a hawk found in Johnson County, Derrer Spears said.
Because of the prevalence, animal health officials encourage people who own poultry to try to avoid or reduce the amount of interaction those have with wild birds, particularly migratory waterfowl such as ducks or geese, Derrer Spears said.
“If you have to live in a place where there’s a farm pond or a stream, that tends to attract ducks, geese, those kinds of birds are the ones we’re seeing the high pathogenic avian influenza cases,” she said. “If you can contain your birds, coop them up with chicken wire, do that, and certainly bring them in at night.”
Officials also recommend having special shoes or boots that are only worn in the area where the poultry are. The avian influenza virus is shed in the bird droppings, so it can be easy to track that virus into the habitat, Derrer Spears said.
Based on available information about these viruses, the CDC believes that the risk to the general public’s health from current H5N1 bird flu viruses is low, however some people may have job-related or recreational exposures to birds that put them at higher risk of infection.
Avian influenza does not present a food safety risk; poultry and eggs are safe to eat, according to the Board of Animal Health. Officials are not aware of any public health significance with this virus. No cases of human infection have been reported.
The case in Johnson County is the first backyard flock to be reported in Indiana. Previously, nine affected commercial flocks had been confirmed in Dubois, Greene and Elkhart counties.
Hobby poultry owners are encouraged to be aware of the signs of avian influenza. Signs include sudden death without clinical signs; 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; lack of coordination; and diarrhea.
People are encouraged to report signs of illness and/or death to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Healthy Birds Hotline at 866-536-7593. Callers will be routed to a state or federal veterinarian in Indiana for a case assessment. Dead birds should be double-bagged and refrigerated for possible testing.
