Update published 1:32 p.m. Saturdy, Jan. 18:
The Gainesville-based Georgia Poultry Federation has issued a statement regarding Friday's announcement of poultry industry operation suspension by the state department of agriculture.
Mike Giles, president of the federation, issued the following statement Saturday afternoon:
The Georgia Department of Agriculture announced confirmation of a positive HPAI detection in a commercial poultry operation in Elbert County on January 17, 2025.
Georgia’s poultry industry is working closely with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network to respond to this detection in compliance with state and federal requirements and best practices.
The poultry industry is responding in cooperation with state and federal partners on the farm where the virus was originally detected, and additional surveillance is being conducted within the control zone around the original detection to confirm that the virus has not spread to other farms.
A heightened emphasis on biosecurity remains a top priority for commercial poultry producers throughout the state of Georgia.
We are very thankful to our state and federal partners for their cooperative efforts to respond to this incident in a way that reduces the risk of the virus spreading to other commercial poultry farms throughout the state.
Even before this detection, robust surveillance and sampling protocols were in place to ensure that no food products from an infected farm enter the food supply chain. Before poultry is processed for human consumption, samples from each ock
are collected, and no food products are allowed into the supply chain for human consumption without first receiving test results demonstrating that the flocks are healthy and safe for consumption.
That approach to protecting the safety of poultry products produced in Georgia will continue throughout this response and beyond.
Original story published 9:34 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 18:
The Georgia Department of Agriculture's (GDA) Commissioner has suspended all poultry farm activities across the state of Georgia, following the first confirmed case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in chickens at an Elbert County farm.
Friday's post on social media and the GDA website Commissioner Tyler Harper's Facebook page indicates, "Today, we confirmed the first positive case of HPAI in a commercial pulutry operation in Elber County. As a result,all pooultry activites - exhbitions, shows, swaps and sales - in Georgia are suspended until further notice. GDA staff are currently onsite at the affected premises working to mitigate any spread of the disease and minimize the impact to Georgia' #1 industry."
The GDA's statement on their web site indicates that on Wednesday, January 15th, the producer in question noticed signs of Avian Influenza in their flock and samples wre collected on Thursday morning, January 16th. Those were transported to the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network (GPLN) for testing, with a positive detection confirmed by the GPLN later Thursday afternoon. The USDA's National Veternary Services Laboratory further confirmed the findings on Friday, January 17th.
The GDA's Emergency Management and State Agricultural Response Teams (SART) immediately were then deployed to the affected premises in Elbert County for depopulation, cleaning, disinfecting and disposal operations on Friday, January 17th, with operations expected to continue throughout the weekend.
The GDA says all commercial poultry operations within a 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) radius have been placed under immediate quarantine and will undergo surveillance testing for at least two weeks. As a result, The GDA reported Friday that poultry exhibitions, shows swaps and sales (flea market or auction market) in the entire state of Georgia are suspended until further notice.
Agriculture Commissioner Harper's office will issue notifications when the listed activities may resume in Georgia.
Avian Influenza (AI) is a reportable disease in Georgia. If you have concerns about AI in birds, call the Georgia Avian Influenza hotline at 770-766-6850 or visit https://www.gapoultrylab.org/avian-influenza-hotline/.
