SUMTER COUNTY, Ga. — Georgia now has it's first confirmed case off the year of a highly contagious bird flu, according to the the state's Department of Agriculture.
The disease is called the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). It was confirmed at a commercial duck breeding organization in Sumter County in south Georgia, about 35 miles north of Albany.
The announcement follows similar confirmations from Alabama, Tennessee and Florida in recent weeks.
Although officials called the case alarming, they added that the flu case does not pose a risk to food supply and risk of human infection is low.
"While HPAI does not represent a significant threat to humans or the safety of our food supply, its impact on poultry is devastating, and we’ll continue to work overtime with our partners at APHIS to protect Georgia’s poultry industry," said Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper.
Officials added that none of the affected animals entered the food chain system.
Department of Agriculture officials said the flock's owner noticed some signs of impairment in the ducks starting on Saturday, Nov. 18 and an increase of deaths in the flock the next day.
A University of Georgia veterinary laboratory in Tifton, also in south Georgia, took samples on Sunday, Nov. 19. By Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the bird flu case.
Once the case was confirmed, animal health officials quarantine the area and depopulated around 30,000 birds to prevent the disease from spreading further.
Commissioner Harper added that officials will test and monitor all other flocks within a roughly 6-mile radius of the breeding area. So far, though, no other flocks in the surrounding areas have tested positive for the virus.
State officials added the virus originates from wild birds, which can be natural carriers of the flu and can carry it without signs of illness.
