GAINESVILLE, Ga. — On March 13, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J. Harper announced that Georgia had officially regained its status as free of highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry. The HPAI-free status allows for the resumption of exports and international trade of Georgia poultry products as recognized by the World Organization of Animal Health (WOAH), the Georgia Department of Agriculture said in the announcement.
“Thanks to the tireless efforts of our Georgia Department of Agriculture staff and partners in this response, we are able to declare the State of Georgia is free from HPAI,” Harper said. “While this declaration marks the end of our operations at the affected premises and in the control zone, HPAI remains a significant threat to our state’s #1 industry, and we will continue working around the clock to keep HPAI out of our state, protect Georgia’s poultry flock, and bring down prices for Georgia consumers.”
The last confirmed case in the state was Feb. 2, in Hart County, and that was the third case in the state in 2026. For the entire outbreak, the Hart County detection was Georgia’s seventh case in a commercial operation, GDA noted.
Despite the good news of this HPAI-free status, it does not mean that the risk of the disease is over for Georgia or the United States. Flock owners are still advised to remain vigilant with their biosecurity protocols, GDA added.
“We’re pleased that Georgia has officially been declared free of HPAI in poultry. While the risk of HPAI still exists, across the country, we are hopeful that with the continued diligence of responsible flock owners, we can maintain this status,” Georgia State Veterinarian Dr. Janemarie Hennebelle said. “It’s critical for poultry growers and flock owners to limit contact between wild birds and poultry, follow biosecurity protocols carefully, and remain vigilant for signs of HPAI in their flocks.”
While Georgia is lucky to have earned its HPAI-free status, other states around the country haven’t had the same luck. Pennsylvania and Indiana are currently leading the country in confirmed cases. Since March 3, the state of Indiana has had 18 detections across various counties, with Elkhart County having the most cases, according to data from the Indiana Board of Animal Health.
The detections occurred at commercial duck meat, breeder duck, egg layer, and turkey facilities throughout the affected counties. In total, more than 200,000 birds were affected by the virus, according to data from Indiana BOAH. The most recent detection came from Adams County, which is the county’s first case this year.
In Pennsylvania, things have calmed down to some degree. The state saw hundreds of thousands of birds affected by HPAI during the months of January and February. However, so far in March, there have only been two confirmed cases.
Both cases came from Lancaster County, one at a commercial table egg layer facility and the other at a commercial broiler production facility, according to data from the USDA. More than 200,000 birds combined were affected by the virus at these two locations.
Although Pennsylvania and Indiana are leading the country in bird flu detections, Wisconsin and Illinois have also had their fair share of bird flu woes recently. On the same day, Wisconsin had two detections of the virus, one in Jefferson County and the other in Walworth County.
The detection in Jefferson County came from a commercial table egg pullet facility, where more than 1.6 million birds were affected, according to USDA data. The Walworth County detection came from a commercial table egg layer facility, where more than 1.4 million birds were affected.
Due to these recent detections and the large number of birds affected, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection announced its decision to suspend all poultry shows, exhibitions, swap meets, and movement of poultry to other events in various southern Wisconsin counties, including Jefferson and Walworth.
The suspension of events will continue through May 10, but the suspension of poultry exhibitions may be extended or expanded to include additional counties if further HPAI cases are identified, Wisconsin DATCP noted in a statement.
In Illinois, the state reported its first confirmed cases of the year, as well as the first cases since March 2025. Between March 3 and 6 of this year, Illinois has had three cases of bird flu, all at commercial turkey meat facilities, according to USDA data.
The first detection took place in Crawford County, while the remaining two took place in Lawrence County. Between all three detections, a total of 80,900 birds were affected, according to USDA data.
Other states with recent HPAI detections are Michigan and Maryland. Michigan reported its first two cases of bird flu for 2026. Both detections came from commercial turkey meat facilities in Kent County, and a total of 78,400 birds were affected, according to USDA data. These detections are also the first ones Kent County has reported in the entire outbreak.
“The HPAI virus continues to pose a risk to Michigan’s poultry farmers. As wild birds move and mitigate this spring, so does this virus, which increases the threat of the disease,” Michigan State Veterinarian Dr. Nora Wineland, said in a statement. “Bird owners need to make sure they’re implementing every preventative measure available to protect their flocks from being exposed to wild birds and the germs they could be carrying and immediately reporting any suspected cases of HPAI. Thanks to the prompt reporting by the flock owner, we can respond quickly. The faster the disease is reported, the faster we can take action to prevent its spread.”
Maryland continues to have bird flu problems this year. On March 13, the Maryland Department of Agriculture reported its fifth case of HPAI, this time in Cecil County at a commercial pullet farm. More than 350,000 birds were affected, according to USDA data.
On March 17, APHIS reported that for the previous 30 days there have been 46 commercial flocks and 37 backyard flocks affected by HPAI. Commercial flocks include 16 in Indiana and 12 in Pennsylvania. These combined national confirmations totaled 14.31 million affected birds.
For more information on bird flu, visit APHIS at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza.
