The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS), has confirmed a second case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a commercial poultry flock in Walker County. This is the second detection of HPAI in a commercial operation in Georgia this year, and the fifth overall since the nationwide outbreak began in February 2022.
The affected site, known as Walker 02, was located within an existing control area and housed about 16,000 broiler breeder chickens. In anticipation of severe weather forecasted for North Georgia over the weekend, state and federal teams expedited response efforts to protect animal health and prevent further spread of the virus. Depopulation at Walker 02 was completed on January 23.
“Through routine surveillance testing, a second commercial poultry operation in Walker County has been confirmed positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. Control area testing is critical to identifying the virus as early as possible and limiting its spread into the environment,” said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J Harper. “HPAI poses a serious threat to Georgia’s number one industry and to the thousands of Georgians whose livelihoods depend on poultry production. The Georgia Department of Agriculture deployed immediately to Walker 02, and our teams are working around the clock to contain the virus, protect our state’s poultry flock, and minimize impacts to other producers and Georgia consumers.”
Premovement samples were taken from the operation on January 22, with initial tests by the Georgia Poultry Lab Network indicating a presumptive positive result for HPAI. This allowed GDA to begin response operations before confirmatory results arrived from USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) late on January 23. While NVSL confirmation provides more information about the strain, it does not alter GDA’s required actions: immediate depopulation, disposal, cleaning, and disinfection.
All commercial poultry operations within a 10-kilometer control area remain under quarantine with increased surveillance testing. The control area was expanded to include five additional farms due to proximity between affected sites. Movement of poultry or related materials into or out of this area is prohibited without special permits from GDA. Access to affected premises is restricted by GDA Law Enforcement to authorized personnel only.
