The Georgia Department of Agriculture has confirmed the detection of bird flu at an unnamed chicken processor in Georgia.
According to the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been identified in a commercial poultry operation located in Elbert County, Georgia.
This marks the fifth detection of bird flu within the southern state, though it is the first confirmed case impacting a commercial facility.
In an effort to contain the highly contagious disease, government officials have implemented a quarantine spanning a 6.2-mile radius around the affected poultry operations, alongside initiating surveillance testing for a minimum of two weeks.
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper stated, “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.”
In his remarks, he emphasized the seriousness of the situation, stating, “This is a serious threat to Georgia’s number one industry and the livelihoods of thousands of Georgians who make their living in our state’s poultry industry. 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.”
Georgia leads the nation in chicken production, producing 1.3 billion chickens in 2022, according to USDA statistics.
In fact, as reported by USA Today, the industry employed over 88,000 individuals in 2022 and contributed more than $28 billion to the state’s overall economy.
Officials disclosed that the affected operation had approximately 45,000 broiler breeders onsite at the time of the positive detection.
Furthermore, the producer first observed indicators of bird flu within the flock on January 15, and subsequent tests confirmed the diagnosis the following day. The state agriculture department’s emergency management and response teams responded promptly, carrying out depopulation, cleaning, disinfecting, and disposal operations on January 17, 2025.
In December, the USDA launched a National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS) aimed at tracking the spread of bird flu.
This initiative mandates dairy farms to provide unpasteurized milk samples for testing, improving understanding of the virus’s transmission across the U.S. dairy sector.
Ultimately, it builds upon previously implemented measures by the USDA and federal and state agencies following the initial detection of H5N1 in dairy cattle last March.
