Dive Brief:
- Indiana now has its first case of the bird flu, which makes it the 15th state to report the virus.
- What is also concerning is that the strain found was not H5N2 like the other Mississippi flyway cases have been. It was H5N8, the strain found in the Pacific flyway in early reports of the virus.
- The Indiana outbreak was reported in a small backyard flock of 77 assorted birds, including ducks, chickens, turkeys, geese, and other species.
Dive Insight:
While farmers have hoped that the warm spring weather would slow the spread of the virus, the H5 flu strains have not appeared to let up yet. The flu's propensity to move eastward is worrying some farmers and health officials.
"We’re working on the epidemiology, but the new finding of H5N8 is mostly likely due to a new introduction by waterfowl," said Joelle Hayden, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service spokeswoman, in a statement.
The farther it goes, the more of a chance the virus has to affect other farmers and companies, even more so than it has already. No human cases have been reported.