WALWORTH COUNTY — Nearly 1.5 million birds from a poultry flock in Walworth County are under quarantine Friday after state officials identified a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial poultry flock.
According to Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, 1,493,596 birds in a commercial flock were in quarantine as of March 4.
In Jefferson County, 1,621,847 birds in a commercial flock also are under quarantine.
DATCP and the U.S. Department of Agriculture animal health officials are working together in a joint incident response.
The affected premises has been quarantined to restrict movement of poultry and poultry products.
State officials say birds on the property will be what they call “depopulated” to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.
When HPAI is diagnosed in a Wisconsin poultry flock, a control area is established within a 10 kilometer area around the infected premises, restricting movement on or off any premises with poultry. To help producers determine if their poultry are located within an active control area or surveillance zone, poultry owners are encouraged to use DATCP’s mapping tool.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and Walworth County Public Health are monitoring exposed farm workers for HPAI symptoms. The risk to the general public in Wisconsin remains low. Prevention information for farmworkers or others who have close contact with birds, dairy cows, or other relevant animals can be found under https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/occupational-health/farm-health.htm.