California officials have confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic bird flu in a chicken farm in Kings County in the San Joaquin Valley. The farm is home to 114,000 birds, reports the Capital Press. It is the furthest South the virus has been found since initially appearing in poultry flocks in Vancouver, Canada.
In late January, a Foster farms turkey farm in California was found to have the bird flu virus. The USDA has not released any further information about this latest farm, other than announcing that it was added to a list of bird flu outbreaks in commercial and non-commercial flocks since mid-December.
The USDA reported to the World Organization for Animal Health that the outbreak began Feb. 2 with an increased mortality among chickens. The virus was confirmed Feb. 12, and the premises were quarantined. The flock included ducks, according to a report posted by the Organization for Animal Health.
