A mallard duck captured near Fairbanks, Alaska, and tested as part of a surveillance program was infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, said USDA. It was the first confirmation of bird flu in the United States since June 2015, at the end of the worst bird flu epidemic to strike U.S. poultry flocks.
“Anyone involved with poultry production from the small backyard to the large commercial producer should review their biosecurity activities to assure the health of their birds,” said USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Migratory waterfowl are believed to have infected U.S. egg-laying chicken flocks in the 2015 epidemic, which killed 10 percent of U.S. chickens.
No human infections resulted from the 2015 epidemic. The USDA captured the wild mallard for testing at a state wildlife refuge near Fairbanks. The APHIS surveillance program has tested approximately 4,000 birds since July 1. The agency’s goal is to test 30,000 samples before next July 1.