The Woods

USDA confirms HPAI in two additional states, increase in surveillance

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USDA confirms HPAI in two additional states, increase in surveillance

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in birds in two additional states — a flock of commercial broiler chickens in Fulton County, Kentucky, and a backyard flock of mixed species birds in Fauquier County, Virginia.

Last week, the first case was confirmed in a commercial turkey flock in Dubois County, Indiana. This was the first confirmed case of HPAI in commercial poultry in the United States since 2020.

New York Deer Infected With Omicron, Study Finds – The New York Times

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New York Deer Infected With Omicron, Study Finds – The New York Times

White-tailed deer on Staten Island have been found carrying the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus, marking the first time the variant has been reported in wild animals.

The findings add to a growing body of evidence that white-tailed deer are easily infected by the virus. The results are likely to intensify concerns that deer, which are widely distributed across the United States and live near humans, could become a reservoir for the virus and a potential source of new variants.