GEORGIA (WALB) - The fifth case of confirmed case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in Georgia, according to a release.

The case was at a commercial poultry plant in Gordon County, Georgia. The release said that this marks the third case of confirmed HPAI in a commercial operation and the fifth overall detection in the state.

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The Georgia Department of Agriculture worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) to confirm this case.

Since the nationwide avian influenza outbreak began in 2022, more than 182 million birds have been affected across the United States, including 340,000 in Georgia, the release said.

“For the third time this year, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has been confirmed in a commercial poultry operation here in Georgia.

This poses a serious threat to Georgia’s #1 industry and to the thousands of Georgians whose livelihoods depend on poultry production. Our team is working around the clock to contain the spread and protect our flocks.”

The release said that the producer noticed clinical signs of HPAI in their flocks on Wednesday, Oct. 22. The Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network was contacted the next day.

The samples that were collected tested positive for HPAI, the release said.

On Friday, Oct. 24, the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Management and State Agricultural Response Teams (SART) went to the plant to conduct depopulation, disposal, cleaning, and disinfection.

All commercial poultry plants within a 6.2-mile radius have been placed on quarantine and will undergo surveillance testing for a period of at least two weeks, the release said.

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