High Path Avian Influenza, also known as bird flu, has been found in nearly a million chickens in the Miami Valley.
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In Darke County, 931,302 commercial chickens were tested positive for bird flu by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory as of Dec. 27, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA).
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As shown on News Center 7 at 6 p.mState veterinarian Dr. Dennis Summers said High Path Avian Influenza has the ability to infect domestic poultry, so that includes chickens and turkeys in particular.
Summers said as the birds migrate, the virus will remain within those populations and spread as they digest food. If other birds come into contact with this droppings, they become ill.
Summers said bird owners should limit contact on their farm or around their chickens. He suggested washing hands and boots and making sure equipment is clean between each use.
“If it falls from migratory bird droppings, it's probably on the ground, right? So you know, your feet are actually a very likely opportunity to carry the virus from one building to another,” he said.
The exact location of these chickens in the province was not initially released.
According to the ODA, the more than 931,000 chickens have been depopulated. As News Center 7 has reported in previous bird flu outbreaks, ODA's procedure involves quarantining the affected facility and “depopulating” or killing the birds to prevent the disease from spreading.
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