WASHINGTON On Friday 15 January the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H7N8 avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial turkey flock in Dubois County, Indiana.  This is a different strain of HPAI than the strains that caused the 2015 outbreak.  There are no known cases of H7N8 infections in humans.  As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses, including HPAI.

Samples from the turkey flock, which experienced increased mortality, were tested at the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Purdue University, which is a part of USDA’s National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed by USDA this morning. APHIS is working closely with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the affected premises and depopulation of birds on the premises has already begun. Depopulation prevents the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.

On Sunday the Indiana Journal Gazette reports that birds from nine more commercial turkey farms in Indiana have tested positive for bird flu, and officials were trying Saturday to determine the strain of the highly contagious virus.

All of the new infections are located within a control area set up around the first farm, the statement said.

The control area, which is under quarantine, has been expanded to four other Indiana counties, the board said.

Denise Derrer, spokeswoman for the Indiana board, said health officials are still trying to determine how many birds are affected on the nine farms covered by the announcement Saturday.

Officials had begun euthanizing birds at most of the new sites, the board said.

All 60,000 turkeys on the first farm have been euthanized.

The highly pathogenic H7N8 virus has not yet been found in wild birds, suggesting that the virus could have developed in wild birds that spent the winter in southern Indiana, USDA spokeswoman Andrea McNally said Friday.

“We may know more once the remaining work on virus sequencing is completed, likely sometime next week,” she said.

There’s also no indication why H7N8 surfaced during winter months, but officials have said bird flu – any strain of it – could resurface anytime.

Indiana’s poultry industry brings in $2.5 billion a year, Derrer said, adding that the state leads the country in duck production, is No. 3 in egg production and fourth in turkeys.

In 2015 bird flu killed 48 million birds, mostly turkeys and egg-laying chickens in 15 states as it swept through the Midwest. Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri lost the most birds.