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OLYMPIA – Stevens County, Washington saw its first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) late last week. Washington state domestic flocks had almost a year break from HPAI until last month. Since then, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has confirmed a total of five cases, the latest two being confirmed Friday, November 1, 2024, in Okanogan and Stevens counties.

Wild birds and mammals, and neighboring states’ domestic flocks continue to have detections, indicating the virus is still present in the environment and spreading during fall migration. Bird owners should continue to take precautions to protect their flocks.

“While we had hoped to not see any cases this year, current trends suggest the virus is migrating this fall. We must stay vigilant and prepared to respond for the coming weeks, and potentially months,” Dr. Dana Dobbs, Avian Health Lead for the Washington State Veterinarian’s office, said.

Flock owners within 10 kilometers (or approximately 6 miles) of a detection are in a surveillance zone and are encouraged to self-report the health of their flock. WSDA encourages flock owners to use the online surveillance self-reporting tool to facilitate self-reporting and visit the interactive map to check if you are in a surveillance zone. State veterinarians seek to contact every flock owner in a surveillance area to check on the health of their flock; self-reporting allows a veterinarian to make phone contact to discuss biosecurity and what to look for without having to make in-person contact. 

State veterinarians say the biggest risk factor to date is direct contact with wild waterfowl. Since May 5, 2022, when the WSDA announced the first Washington case, the majority of 51 affected flocks (two commercial, 49 backyard) have had contact with wild waterfowl.

Protecting your birds

Maintaining enhanced biosecurity involves keeping birds sheltered and restricting access to water sources where wild waterfowl gather and interact with domestic flocks. It is also a good idea to clean up any feed spills, limit visitors to the coop, and refrain from sharing equipment with other flock owners. 

Resources for flock owners to learn about bird flu and protect their birds include WSDA’s bird flu webpage, an interactive map, frequently asked questions, the WSDA Facebook group, and USDA’s Defend the Flock webpage.

Reporting signs of illness

If your flock experiences sudden death or illness of multiple birds, call WSDA’s Sick Bird Hotline at 1-800-606-3056, or use the online reporting tool. Birds that have already died should be double-bagged and kept in a cooler on ice until WSDA veterinarians can arrange for sampling. Veterinarians also recommend not allowing scavenger birds to have access to dead domestic fowl, as this can further spread the virus. Sick or dead wild birds should not be touched or moved and can be reported using the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s online reporting tool.  

Related news

Earlier this year, federal agencies confirmed the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI or H5N1) in several dairy herds across the United States. Authorities also confirmed HPAI in swine last week. There have been no reports of livestock with HPAI in Washington to date. The reported strain of HPAI in Washington’s domestic bird cases is not the same strain that has been impacting dairies across the nation.  

​The Washington State Veterinarian’s office is working closely with livestock veterinarians and leaders in related industries to monitor national detections of HPAI (H5N1) in dairy herds and swine.