WASHINGTON – The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the first highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) commercial cases since April.

The agency stated that the virus affected a commercial turkey flock of 47,300 turkeys in Jerauld County, South Dakota.

The same county had an HPAI outbreak in March 2022, which affected 44,000 birds. All HPAI control areas in South Dakota have been released since May 13, 2023. 

Earlier in the week, a non-commercial backyard flock confirmed HPAI in Canyon County, Idaho.

Two commercial flocks in the Canadian province of Alberta also verified HPAI cases on Sept. 26 and Oct. 3.

Since the 2022-2023 outbreak began, APHIS numbers from Oct. 6 show that 842 commercial and backyard flocks have been discovered with HPAI in 47 states. To date, the virus has affected 58.84 million birds.