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Highly pathogenic avian influenza

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Migrating Birds Bring Risks — Stay Alert!

As wild birds migrate, they can introduce bird flu to our area. Since 2022, the virus has impacted over 1,000 flocks across 48 states, including over 50 in Washington. Each fall, as migratory birds arrive, the risk of bird flu entering our environment increases, posing serious health threats to all domestic birds, including chickens, ducks, turkeys, peacocks, guinea fowl, and geese. 
 
This highly contagious and deadly virus requires quick action to safeguard our local bird populations and the health of our farmers' flocks. 
  • No infected birds or eggs have entered the food supply.
  • The risk to the general public remains low.
  • There are no confirmed or suspected cases in dairy farms in Washington state.
For additional information and resources view the following pdfs:

Latest Bird Flu Update

Below is an overview of the current situation as well as historic detection information.
This document is updated as needed. Click image to enlarge.

HPAI quarantine areas

Are you in an active bird flu control or infection zone? Use our interactive map to find out! 
If you have trouble loading the map, you can view the map on ArcGIS.

 

 

Current Washington Bird Flu Detections

Visit WDFW's bird flu page for information about wild bird detections in Washington state. 
For HPAI detections in all animals in the US, visit USDA's APHIS website.

2025 table of highly pathogenic avian influenza cases in Washington domestic birds.

DATE CONFIRMED COUNTY FLOCK SIZE FLOCK TYPES BIRD TYPES
2025        
2/10/2025 Mason Small Backyard Ducks
1/24/2025 Franklin Large Commercial Chickens

Small = <100, Medium = 100-1,000, Large = 1,000+    Updated 09/08/2025
DATE CONFIRMED COUNTY FLOCK SIZE FLOCK TYPE BIRD TYPES
2024        
11/19/2024 Whatcom Small Backyard Mixed
11/07/2024  Snohomish Medium Backyard Mixed
11/04/2024 Okanogan Small Backyard Mixed
11/04/2024  Stevens Medium Backyard Mixed
10/25/2024  Lewis Small Backyard Mixed
10/18/2024 Kitsap Small Backyard Mixed
10/16/2024 Franklin Large Commercial Chickens

Small = <100, Medium = 100-1,000, Large = 1,000+          
DATE CONFIRMED COUNTY FLOCK SIZE FLOCK TYPE BIRD TYPES
12/19/2023 King Small Backyard Mixed
11/28/2023  Pierce Medium Backyard Mixed
10/27/2023 Kittitas Small Backyard Mixed
10/16/2023 King Small Backyard Ducks
2/10/2023 Benton Small Backyard Mixed
1/19/2023 Snohomish Small Backyard Chickens
1/6/2023 Thurston Small Backyard Mixed
Small = <100, Medium = 100-1,000, Large = 1,000+ 
DATE CONFIRMED COUNTY FLOCK SIZE FLOCK TYPE BIRD TYPES
12/29/2022 Snohomish Medium Backyard Mixed
12/20/2022 Pierce Small Backyard Mixed
12/14/2022 Franklin Large Commercial Chickens
11/4/2022 Snohomish Medium Backyard Mixed
9/16/2022 Pierce Small Backyard Mixed
8/26/2022 Cowlitz Small Backyard Mixed
8/25/2022 Pierce Small Backyard Mixed
8/17/2022 Kitsap Small Backyard Mixed
8/12/2022 Walla Walla Small Backyard Ducks
7/26/2022 Jefferson Small Backyard Mixed
7/19/2022 Snohomish Medium Backyard Mixed
7/6/2022 Jefferson Small Backyard Mixed
7/1/2022 Kitsap Small Backyard Ducks
7/1/2022 King Medium Backyard Mixed
06/29/2022 Yakima Small Backyard Mixed
06/24/2022 Pierce Small Backyard Mixed
06/22/2022 Snohomish Medium Backyard Mixed
06/22/2022 King Small Backyard Chickens
06/22/2022 Yakima Small Backyard Mixed
06/22/2022 King Small Backyard Mixed
6/10/2022 Yakima Small Backyard Mixed
6/7/2022 Yakima Medium Backyard Mixed
6/6/2022 Snohomish Small Backyard Mixed
6/6/2022 Snohomish Small Backyard Mixed
6/5/2022 King Small Backyard Mixed
5/31/2022 Snohomish Small Backyard Mixed
5/27/2022 Snohomish Small Backyard Mixed
5/25/2022 King  Small Backyard Mixed
5/24/2022 King Medium Backyard Mixed
5/24/2022 King Small Backyard Mixed
5/17/2022 Thurston Medium Backyard Mixed
5/12/2022 Whatcom Small Backyard Mixed
5/12/2022 Okanogan Small Backyard Mixed
5/11/2022 Clallam Small Backyard Chickens
5/11/2022 Clallam Small Backyard Geese
5/11/2022 Pierce Small Backyard Mixed
5/10/2022 Pierce Small Backyard Mixed
5/7/2022 Spokane Small Backyard Mixed
5/5/2022 Pacific Small Backyard Mixed
Small = <100, Medium = 100-1,000, Large = 1,000+ 

 
Practicing good biosecurity is the way to protect your flock. That means taking steps to prevent your flock from coming in contact with wild birds - especially waterfowl - and their droppings. How you accomplish this depends on the setup of your farm. Some basic tips include keeping your birds confined in an area with a roof that does not allow water through (netting does not work.) The best resource for biosecurity in backyard flocks comes from USDA's Defend the Flock program. 
For backyard birds, if you have a single sick or dead bird or illness that is common for your flock, contact your local veterinarian. 

For multiple dead birds or multiple birds with unusual illness for your flock, please call WSDA's Sick Bird Hotline at 1-800-606-3056. 

If it is a wild bird, please report using WDFW's online reporting tool. 
Once we receive your report, one of our veterinarians will review it and contact you to learn more about your specific situation and to evaluate how likely it is that you may have signs of highly pathogenic avian influenza in your flock. If there are enough signs that your flock seems high risk for having HPAI, a veterinarian will visit your flock to test if for HPAI. If it seems less likely that your flock has HPAI, the veterinarian will provide tips for continuing to monitor your flock and how to enhance biosecurity. 
Double-bag the bird and place it outside in a cooler with bagged ice or cold packs. Don't freeze it and don't put it in a fridge where you put food. It is also helpful to bring it to the end of the driveway when we come to test it so that we can test the bird without entering the property. 
If you submit a bird flu report and our veterinarians believe you may have highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), they will test your flock at no charge to you. Testing will usually happen within 24 hours of when a WSDA veterinarian reviews your report if they believe you may have HPAI. 
No. Only flocks that test positive for bird flu will be euthanized. You should, however, monitor your flock and report unusual deaths or illnesses to our sick bird hotline at 1-800-606-3056. 
Unfortunately, if your flock tests positive for bird flu, the entire flock will need to be euthanized - both to prevent the spread of the disease and because it is humane; dying of bird flu is a slow and painful death for the bird. WSDA staff will euthanize the birds and will also usually dispose of the birds depending on your situation. Also, only birds your property will be euthanized; neighboring flocks will not be euthanized unless they also test positive. 
We know that no amount of money will replace the loss of your birds. However, the United States Department of Agriculture does have a program to help compensate owners who birds are euthanized due to highly pathogenic avian influenza. It only compensates for the birds that were alive at the time when the report was confirmed. 
USDA tracks positive cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza on their website. You can find information on their site for both backyard/commercial birds as well as wild birds. 
Here is a list of disinfectants from the Center for Food Security and Public Health. You'll want to look for the active ingredients for a given product to determine what will work. Don't forget that in order to disinfect, you must first clean the surface - removing any debris. Once the surface is cleaned, you can apply the disinfectant to sanitize the surface. 


Have more questions?

Dr. Itle goes into detail about  in this virtual question and answer session held May 12, 2022. 

Bird Flu News Releases

11/4/2024 Stevens County flock gets first case of HPAI
10/24/2024 Migratory birds raise bird flu concerns: Three additional cases reported in Washington state
10/16/2024 Bird flu infects commercial flock in Franklin County
10/27/2023 Kittitas County flock tests positive for bird flu; veterinarians urge continued self reporting
2/10/2023 Benton County flock tests positive for bird flu; flock owners encouraged to self report
12/14/2022 Bird flu infects first commercial flock in Washington
9/19/2022 Uptick in bird flu cases likely this fall
8/25/2022 Bird flu detected in Cowlitz County, online domestic sick bird reporting launches
8/16/2022 Bird flu detected in Walla Walla County, self-reporting flock health in surveillance zones encouraged
7/01/22 With new Jefferson County detection, Washington leads the nation in backyard flocks with bird flu
6/30/22 Bird flu detected in Kitsap County, poultry show and sale suspension recommendation continues
6/10/22 Bird flu detected in Yakima County
5/27/2022 Snohomish County added to list of bird flu detections
5/25/2022 King County latest in list of bird flu detections
5/19/2022 State veterinarian advises poultry markets to close
5/18/2022 Thurston latest county confirmed with avian influenza case
5/13/2022 State veterinarian urges flock owners to skip fairs, exhibitions
5/13/2022 Okanogan and Whatcom join counties with confirmed bird flu cases
5/12/2022 Backyard flocks infected with avian flu total six, more under investigation
5/11/2022 More backyard flocks test positive for bird flu in Washington
5/07/2022 Second backyard flock tests positive for bird flu in Washington
5/06/2022 Avian influenza detected in backyard flock in Pacific County

Commercial producer permits

In the event that a control zone is established in the area of a commercial farm, the following forms can be used to request permits to move animals or products:  Completed permits can be emailed to WSDA's Animal Health program. 

Additional Resources

USDA's Defend the Flock program - Centro de Recursos de Defend the Flock (Español)
Avian influenza and human health info (Español)
WSDA's Avian Influenza brochure (Español)
Wildlife and avian influenza
Washington Bird Flu Updates 2022 (Facebook group)
Avian influenza in Canada
Information about disinfectants