NEW YORK – A highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in a noncommercial backyard flock of birds on Long Island, federal authorities confirmed Saturday.
Samples from the flock were tested at the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center and confirmed at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
New York officials quarantined the site in Suffolk County, and birds on the affected properties “will be depopulated to prevent the spread of disease,” the USDA said in a statement, noting that the birds will not enter the food system.
Bird flu outbreak:Flu detected at chicken and turkey farms in Midwest, South; more than 300,000 affected
The virus has been detected at commercial turkey farms in southern Indiana, a flock of commercial broiler chickens in Kentucky and a backyard flock of mixed species birds in Northern Virginia.
Indiana officials confirmed Saturday the virus was detected in a fourth commercial poultry flock. Officials began euthanizing the 15,200 birds at the latest farm to prevent the spread of the disease.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the detection of bird flu did not present an immediate public health concern. No human cases of the viruses have been detected in the USA, according to the USDA.