2nd case of bird flu detected at Georgia poultry farm, quarantine continues

Lohmann Brown chickens stand in a barn at Meadow Haven Farm, a certified organic family run farm, in Sheffield, Illinois(Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
ELBERT COUNTY, Ga. - A second case of bird flu has been detected in a commercial poultry producer in Georgia.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture reported on Wednesday that the agency detected a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza at a commercial poultry producer in Elbert County. It's the second case reported in the county in less than a week.
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said the virus is a "serious threat" to the Georgia poultry industry, the largest industry in the state.
The backstory:
The virus has been detected five times previously in Georgia, but in backyard flocks other than the prior case in Elbert County.
Wednesday's report is the third case of the virus detected in Georgia in 2025. The first was found among 13 chickens and ducks earlier this month in Clayton County.
In a release by the Department of Agriculture, officials say that they were notified of the second positive result on Friday and the case was confirmed by the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory late Tuesday night.
Authorities say the second case was around 210 yards away from the first positive commercial case and that the site, known by the name "Elbert 02" had around 130,000 broilers.
What they're saying:
"Our team at the Georgia Department of Agriculture responded immediately to start depopulation, disposal, and cleaning & disinfecting operations," said Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper. "The close proximity of the affected premises allowed our team to respond to both cases concurrently, and while those operations continue, our law enforcement officers are maintaining a secure perimeter to prevent further spread. I want to thank our team at the Georgia Department of Agriculture and our partners, who have been working 12+ hour days during a holiday weekend in the bitter cold to protect our state’s #1 industry and the farm families who fuel its success."
What's next:
All commercial poultry operations within a 6.2-mile radius are under quarantine and will undergo testing for at least two weeks. Officials say the close proximity of the two sites means that the previous quarantine does not need to be expanded.
The state has suspended all poultry activity for sales, including auctions, flea markets, and livestock markets.
The sale of poultry products like meat and eggs and poultry production have not been suspended at this time.
Big picture view:
Bird flu has been spreading, killing millions of wild and domestic birds worldwide over the last two years, among other animals.
Nationwide, the virus has been detected in 84 commercial and backyard flocks in the last month, with 10.7 million birds on those sites, according to the latest online data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It has also been confirmed in dozens of dairy farms.
While human cases are rare and are mostly found among farmworkers, one person has died from bird flu — a Louisiana man over the age of 65 who was hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms.
The Source: Information for this story came from a release by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, previous FOX 5 reporting, and the Associated Press.