Bird Flu Found In Oakland County Backyard Flock: Officials

OAKLAND COUNTY, MI — Bird flu has been found in a backyard flock in Oakland County, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said Thursday.

Officials did not say where in Oakland County the flu was detected, but they did say the property is under quarantine and the birds will be depopulated to prevent further spread.

Additionally, officials are monitoring 11 people who were in contact with the flock, including two who have flu-like symptoms and are in isolation and being tested for influenza A, or bird flu, according to a Detroit News report.

Officials said this is the second case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Oakland County since the virus was first detected in Michigan in 2022.

The bird flu is a highly contagious virus that can spread in various ways from flock to flock, including by wild birds, as well as through infected poultry, equipment and clothing and shoes of caretakers, according to state officials.

The public health risk associated with avian influenza is low, and no animals or products infected with the flu will enter the commercial food chain, according to state officials.

The Oakland County case comes after officials said two poultry operations in Ottawa County, where health officials found bird flu, will be "depopulated" to prevent the spread of the virus.

Those announcements also come after the first human death connected to the bird flu happened recently in Louisiana, the Louisiana Department of Public Health reported Monday. The patient was over 65 and reported to have underlying medical conditions.

Michigan's first 2024 case of bird flu was found earlier this year in Ionia County, roughly 40 miles outside Lansing. Since then, the disease has shown up on 30 dairy farms in Michigan, and made six farmworkers sick.