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Government agencies offer a suite of biosecurity recommendations about avian influenza for both commercial poultry operations and people who keep backyard flocks, as well as settings like fairs, trade shows and other agricultural exhibitions.
Flock of ducks
Wild birds, particularly migratory waterfowl, can contract and transmit both low and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service with the U.S. Department of Agriculture encourages hunters and other persons engaging in outdoor recreation to help track the avian flu.
avian flu testing
A standard protocol of biosecurity practices is recommended for poultry growing operations, from small backyard flocks to those that raise tens or hundreds of thousands of birds. These precautions are intended to prevent and limit the spread of the avian influenza virus.
Backyard chickens
Avian influenzas, including the highly pathogenic varieties, can infect birds both wild and domesticated. Birds carrying the virus can pass it on to other birds through airborne contact, as it is found in respiratory secretions and saliva.
Influenza A virus
Influenza is an infectious disease that can be transmitted between and among numerous species of animals, including humans and other mammals, and wild and domesticated birds.
Visualization by Scott Gordon. Data source: Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).
Avian influenza struck more than 1.9 million chickens, turkeys and mixed-breed fowl across four Wisconsin counties between April and May 2015.
Avian flu impacts in the U.S.
The 2015 avian influenza epidemic was the largest in U.S. history, affecting more than 48 million domestic poultry birds in 15 states between December 2014 and June 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Turkeys
Wisconsin's bout with avian influenza came amid an epidemic that would eventually become the worst in U.S. history.
Avian flu impacts in Barron County
When considering the 2015 avian influenza epidemic in the U.S., it's important not to assume that the disease spread according to any one neat geographical pathway.
Barron County officials discuss avian flu
Barron County, located in northwestern Wisconsin, is home to multiple turkey farms and a Jennie-O processing plant. Five flocks were struck with avian influenza there over April and May.