NEW YORK (AP) — A highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in a non-commercial backyard flock of birds on Long Island in New York. Samples from the flock were tested at the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center and confirmed at a USDA laboratory in Ames, Iowa. The USDA announced the confirmation on Saturday. New York state officials have quarantined the site in Suffolk County and officials said birds on the affected properties “will be depopulated to prevent the spread of disease.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says the recent detections do not present an immediate public health concern. No human cases of these viruses have been detected in the U.S.
Photo: Workers kill some 1000 ducks at a poultry farm in Lohitzun Oyhercq southwestern France, Thursday, Jan.27, 2022. France’s government has ordered farmers to cull a total of 2.5 million animals after a number of outbreaks of bird flu. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)