For the latest update, please visit Colorado Department of Agriculture.
April 17, 2022
A flock in La Plata County was detected. The flock was experiencing significant illness and was humanely euthanized on April 17, 2022 and disposed of by burial on site. The premises is under a 150 day quarantine. A 10k Control Area was established and surveillance teams were deployed to identify additional poultry in the area. Education was provided to poultry owners for active observational surveillance.
April 15, 2022
On April 15, 2022, the State Veterinarian’s office was notified of a mortality event at a commercial broiler breeder facility in Montrose County. Samples from the flock, known as Montrose01, were submitted to the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for preliminary testing, with confirmation of HPAI made by NVSL on April 19, 2022. The 60,000 bird flock is being euthanized to control the spread of the virus.
The State Veterinarian has issued a Quarantine Order in parts of Montrose and Delta Counties to limit movement of birds in and out of the area. Commercial and backyard poultry operations within the Quarantine Area are required to halt any movement of poultry and poultry products, as defined in the order, in and out of the area.
April 9, 2022
Contacts: APHISpress@usda.gov
WASHINGTON, April 9, 2022 – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a non-commercial backyard flock (poultry) in Pitkin County, Colorado.
Samples from the flock were tested at the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
APHIS is working closely with state animal health officials in the state on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the recent HPAI detections do not present an immediate public health concern. No human cases of these avian influenza viruses have been detected in the United States. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F is recommended as a general food safety precaution.
As part of existing avian influenza response plans, Federal and State partners are working jointly on additional surveillance and testing in areas around the affected flocks. The United States has the strongest AI surveillance program in the world, and USDA is working with its partners to actively look for the disease in commercial poultry operations, live bird markets and in migratory wild bird populations.
Anyone involved with poultry production from the small backyard to the large commercial producer should review their biosecurity activities to assure the health of their birds. APHIS has materials about biosecurity, including videos, checklists, and a toolkit available at Defend the Flock Resource Center.
USDA will report these findings to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) as well as international trading partners. USDA also continues to communicate with trading partners to encourage adherence to OIE standards and minimize trade impacts. OIE trade guidelines call on countries to base trade restrictions on sound science and, whenever possible, limit restrictions to those animals and animal products within a defined region that pose a risk of spreading disease of concern.OIE trade guidelines also call on member countries to not impose bans on the international trade of poultry commodities in response to notifications in non-poultry.
APHIS will continue to announce the first case of HPAI in commercial and backyard flocks detected in a State but will not announce subsequent detections in the State. All cases in commercial and backyard flocks will be listed on the APHIS website at Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.
In addition to practicing good biosecurity, all bird owners should prevent contact between their birds and wild birds and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to State/Federal officials, either through their state veterinarian or through APHIS’ toll-free number at (866) 536-7593. APHIS urges producers to consider bringing birds indoors when possible to further prevent exposures. The Animal Health Protection Act authorizes APHIS to provide indemnity payments to producers for birds and eggs that must be depopulated during a disease response. APHIS also provides compensation for disposal activities and virus elimination activities. Additional information on biosecurity for backyard flocks can be found at Defend the Flock Program.
Additional background
Avian influenza (AI) is caused by an influenza type A virus which can infect poultry (such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese, and guinea fowl) and is carried by free flying waterfowl such as ducks, geese and shorebirds. AI viruses are classified by a combination of two groups of proteins: hemagglutinin or “H” proteins, of which there are 16 (H1–H16), and neuraminidase or “N” proteins, of which there are 9 (N1–N9). Many different combinations of “H” and “N” proteins are possible. Each combination is considered a different subtype and can be further broken down into different strains which circulate within flyways/geographic regions. AI viruses are further classified by their pathogenicity (low or high)—the ability of a particular virus strain to produce disease in domestic poultry.
April 7, 2022
At the time of this email, HPAI has been detected in commercial or backyard flocks in 25 states. Colorado has seen wild bird detections in 4 counties (Denver, Morgan, El Paso, Sedgwick) and USDA Wildlife Services has increased HPAI surveillance in the wild bird population throughout Colorado.
Our primary goal right now is prevention -increase measures to keep HPAI out of our domestic poultry in the state. At the same time, we are quickly working on increasing our preparedness in the event we do have a detection in the state. We are asking everyone to:
- Increase Biosecurity
- Monitor flocks for signs of illness and production parameters
- Report any suspicious disease events
Biosecurity is critical and our office is more than happy to assist with any biosecurity inquiries. Please reach out if we can be of any assistance.
Contact Information:
- State Veterinarian’s Office - (303) 869-9130 (veterinarian on call 24/7)
- CSU Avian Health Team - (970) 297-4008 (may not be answered on nights/weekends)
- USDA Healthy Bird Hotline - (866) 536-7593 (may not be answered on nights/weekends)
You can find more details and information in the HPAI Post Webinar Document(PDF, 2MB). There is great information with phone numbers, links to helpful websites and a link to a recorded webinar.
March 31, 2022
After the US Department of Agriculture confirmed detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in wild birds in Sedgwick County last week, Colorado’s State Veterinarian advised issuing an emergency rule suspending all poultry shows, including meets, sales, swaps, and competitions. The state’s Agricultural Commission approved this emergency rule on March 30. The rule takes effect immediately and will last for 90 days, unless renewed or ended at an earlier date by vote of the Ag Commission and a recommendation of the State Veterinarian.