A case of low pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture to have infected a commercial flock of 22,000 hens in Christian County, Kentucky.
The virus was suspected during a routine pre-slaughter test done a couple weeks after the first case of bird flu was detected in the U.S. The first birds to be confirmed had a case of high pathogenic avian influenza on a poultry farm in Tennessee. The farm was on the Mississippi flyaway near the Alabama state line.
The USDA stated that LPAI causes only minor symptoms in birds, but because of the potential of the virus to mutate into fatal HPAI the birds need to be closely monitored. The Kentucky flock had no symptoms but was culled as a precautionary measure, according to Kentucky State Veterinarian Robert C. Stout.
