Oregon on the Hunt for Potential Avian Influenza

Bird Flu has been detected in some states in the Southeast, but for now, Oregon has remained disease free.

Oregon Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian Dr. Brad LeaMaster said no detected cases doesn’t mean producers can relax.

“The avian influenza virus is naturally occurring in the wild waterfowl population, it’s always there. It’s a constant test of a person’s biosecurity measures.”

Oregon producers should remain vigilant, whether that’s simple biosecurity measures include keeping hands, clothes, and equipment clean when handling backyard birds, knowing the signs of sick birds and reporting them, and keeping backyard birds away from other birds, especially wild waterfowl.

ODA’s Avian Health Coordinator Mariah Crawford said, “So, we’ve been working a lot with our backyard producers to normalize and make the word biosecurity kind of a household term, kind of teach our backyard producers that it is simple to protect yourself and your birds from diseases like avian influenza.”

Crawford said Oregon may be lucky with no detections, but a large part of that is making their own luck by working diligently.