Bird flu found in nearly 1 million chickens in Darke County

High Path Avian Influenza, otherwise known as bird flu, has been detected in nearly one million chickens in the Miami Valley.

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In Darke County, 931,302 commercial chickens were confirmed positive for bird flu by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory on Dec. 27, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA).

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As shown on News Center 7 at 6:00, state veterinarian Dr. Dennis Summers said High Path Avian Influenza has the capability to infect domestic poultry, so that’s particularly chickens and turkeys.

Summers said as the birds migrate, the virus will stay within those populations and spread when they digest food. As other birds come in contact with those droppings, they get sick.

Summers said bird owners should limit contact on their farm or near their chickens. He suggested washing hands and boots and making sure equipment is clean between each use.

“If it’s dropping down from droppings from migratory birds, it’s probably on the ground, right? So, you know, your feet are actually a very likely opportunity to bring the virus, you know, from one premise to another,” he said.

The exact location of where these chickens were in the county was not initially released.

The over 931,000 chickens were depopulated, according to the ODA. As News Center 7 has reported with previous bird flu outbreaks, ODA’s procedure is to quarantine the impacted facility and to “depopulate,” or kill, the birds to prevent the disease from spreading.

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