State of Georgia Halts Poultry Sales

The Georgia Department of Agriculture announced the suspension of all poultry-related activities in the state after a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was detected in a commercial facility.

The positive case of HPAI, found by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at a commercial poultry operation in Elbert County, Georgia, was the first discovered in a commercial operation in the Peach State, according to a Jan. 17 notice from the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

That means all “in-state poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets, and sales are suspended until further notice.”

“For the first time since the ongoing, nationwide outbreak began in 2022, HPAI has been confirmed in a commercial poultry operation in the state of Georgia,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said in the announcement.

He acknowledged the economic harm that the suspension will cause the state and its residents.

“This is a serious threat to Georgia’s number onr industry and the livelihoods of thousands of Georgians who make their living in our state’s poultry industry,” he added.

“We are working around the clock to mitigate any further spread of the disease and ensure that normal poultry activities in Georgia can resume as quickly as possible.”

The commercial facility with the positive case noticed “clinical signs of Avian Influenza in their flock” on Jan. 15.

Agriculture officials collected samples on Jan. 16 and took them to the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network for examination.

The positive case was confirmed later that day, after which the U.S. Department of Agriculture was alerted.

The state agriculture department’s Emergency Management and State Agricultural Response Teams deployed to the facility to “conduct depopulation, cleaning and disinfecting, and disposal operations” on Jan. 17.

The facility “had approximately 45,000 broiler breeders onsite,” a reference to the number of female and male chickens raised to produce fertilized eggs for hatcheries.

“As a result of this detection, poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, and sales (flea market or auction market) in the State of Georgia are suspended until further notice,” the announcement added.

“Notifications will be issued when the listed activities may resume in Georgia.”

Every commercial poultry operation within 6.2 miles of the facility that reported the infection were “placed under quarantine and will undergo surveillance testing for a period of at least two weeks.”

The International Production & Processing Expo, the largest annual poultry, feed, and meat technology exposition in the world, was scheduled for the last week of January in Atlanta, Georgia.

But the event can proceed as planned, according to Harper, since “no live birds will be present at the Expo,” per a statement d on the conference’s website.

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