Very Contagious Bird Flu Threatens MA Poultry This Season: State

MASSACHUSETTS — Whether you own a commercial poultry operation or just have a few egg-layers in a coop in your backyard, state agriculture officials are warning Massachusetts poultry owners to be on guard for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) this season.

The very contagious form of bird flu that sprang up in 2022 is still circulating, and may be a threat this season due to bird migrations ahead of winter, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

"There are now increasing detections in domestic poultry involving both commercial and backyard flocks. Infection within the wild bird population and the fall migration may contribute to introduction and spread of the disease to and among domestic birds," the state said in an update on Nov. 1.

In Massachusetts, HPAI is a bigger threat for poultry that mingle with wild birds, especially species like seagulls and waterfowl like geese and Mallards.

HPAI is a worldwide problem, but has been circulating in U.S. poultry populations since at least early 2022, when a turkey farm in Indiana detected the virus.

Although rare, HPAI strains have jumped from poultry to humans with about H5N1 890 cases worldwide since 1997, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those cases have often followed long exposure to sick birds without protection. The H5N1 strain has killed about 50 percent of people it infects, according to the CDC.

The state operates an HPAI surveillance program, including a hotline to report sick, dead or possibly infected birds. Find out more on the MDAR HPAI website.