Animal health officials continue to find positive cases of the virus known as bird flu on commercial poultry farms throughout northern Indiana. On Tuesday evening, a commercial table egg pullet facility in LaGrange County was found to have the virus, according to the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH).
The most recently affected farm has an estimated flock size of 19,343. State health officials say each facility that has a positive test must be quarantined and each of the birds are depopulated.
Since Oct. 9, more than 900,000 birds have been depopulated due to positive tests of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) on poultry farms across Elkhart, LaGrange, and Noble counties. Those three counties represent one of the most densely-populated areas in the U.S. for poultry production, with millions of birds being raised across northern Indiana for commercial duck and egg production.
Indiana ranks first in the U.S. for duck production, third for egg production, and fourth for turkey production, according to USDA.
Federal officials with USDA add that HPAI does not present a food safety risk, and that cooked poultry and eggs and pasteurized dairy products remain safe to eat.
