Poultry sales temporarily halted due to avian influenza outbreak in Georgia, as human cases increase

Georgia officials have confirmed the state’s first outbreak of avian influenza and have suspended all poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, breeding and sales in the state until further notice.
Poultry producers in Elbert County noticed signs of avian influenza in their flock Wednesday, according to the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The samples were tested and confirmed by the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network and USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory.
This illustration shows a test tube and an egg labeled “Bird Flu.” (Reuters/Dado Luvić/Reuters Photo)
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Officials said the GDA Emergency Management Team and State Agriculture Response Team were immediately dispatched to the scene and began “depopulation, cleaning and disinfection, and disposal operations” on Friday.
There are approximately 45,000 broiler farmers on the affected premises, and operations are expected to continue through the weekend.

Georgia’s agricultural response team was immediately dispatched to the site of the infected poultry and began “population reduction, cleaning and disinfection, and disposal operations,” officials said. (Photographer: Mary Kang/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
All commercial poultry operations within a six-mile radius will be placed under quarantine and subject to at least two weeks of surveillance testing, according to the GDA.
The display, show, exchange and sale of poultry in Georgia (flea or auction markets) is suspended until further notice, officials said. There’s no word on when it will reopen.
The case is the first confirmed at a commercial poultry farm in Georgia and the fifth in the state, officials said.
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In a media briefing Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledged that: public risk Avian influenza infection rates remain low but are being closely monitored.
According to the CDC, there have been 67 confirmed cases of avian influenza in humans since 2022, and 66 in 2024.

Bird flu has been confirmed in 67 human cases, officials said. (license/image)
“For the first time since the nationwide outbreak in 2022, HPAI [bird flu] Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said in a statement, “Georgia’s commercial poultry operations have been identified. This is Georgia’s premier industry and the livelihoods of thousands of Georgians who make their living in the state’s poultry industry. It is a serious threat to the country.” We are working around the clock to mitigate further spread of the disease and resume normal poultry operations in Georgia as soon as possible. ”
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The CDC advises people to avoid direct contact with wild birds and other potentially infected animals, and recommends that poultry workers wear personal protective equipment.