GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The suspension on poultry activities has been lifted, as well as the HPAI Control Areas following successful completion of testing and protocols with no further detections. According to a press release by the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA), Tyler J. Harper shared his optimistic outlook by saying,
“I’m excited to announce that both commercial poultry producers in the control area and poultry enthusiasts across our state can return to normal operations,” said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J. Harper. “While this announcement is a great step in the right direction, HPAI remains a significant threat to our #1 industry, and the Georgia Department of Agriculture will continue working around the clock to protect our state’s flocks and to keep prices as low as possible for Georgia consumers.”
This comes less than a month after the initial positive HPAI test was recorded in the Elbert County area, and led to the subsequent suspensions of poultry activities.
“In response to these detections, the Georgia Department of Agriculture immediately suspended all poultry activities involving live birds including sales at auction, flea or livestock markets, meetups, swaps, and exhibitions. Following the release of the control area, the suspension has been lifted and poultry activities may resume as normal,” explained today’s GDA press release.
In our previous coverage on January 17th, “In an effort to contain the outbreak, all commercial poultry operations within a 10 Kilometer (6.2 mile) radius have been placed under quarantine and will undergo surveillance testing for a period of at least two weeks.”
Today, “Every commercial operation within the control area was subjected to increased testing and movement controls based on their proximity to the affected premises. In response to this event, GPLN staff completed 4,541 tests representing 49,951 individual chickens and hundreds of flocks with no additional detections of HPAI.”
