California turkey farm quarantined after confirmed case of bird flu

California turkey farm quarantined after confirmed case of bird flu

The USDA has confirmed a case of H5N8 avian influenza in a California turkey farm.

A California turkey farm has been quarantined after the first case of H5N8 avian influenza was confirmed, the U.S. government said in a statement.

Foster Farms, a privately own poultry company on the west coast of the United States, reported the infection to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“According to USDA policy, the ranch was quarantined and will be humanely depopulated by the USDA and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to prevent introduction to migratory and commercial flocks. No poultry products in the marketplace are impacted,” said Foster Farms in a statement.

Both state and government labs confirmed the presence of H5N8 in samples submitted by Foster Farms after the company noticed a spike in the number of bird deaths. This marks the first domestic, commercial case of the virus in over ten years.

The USDA said that the H5N8 infection does not affect the public or pose any health risk to consumers. The birds from the infected flock will not be entering into supply chains and to date there have been no human cases of H5N8 confirmed worldwide.

This news comes just a few weeks after China banned the import of U.S. poultry due to an outbreak of another strain of avian flu. The ban came after two different strains of avian flu, including H5N2, were identified in Whatcom County Washington.

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