APHIS: Avian flu hits commercial hatchery in New Mexico

New Mexico has had its first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial operation.

According to information from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the presence of H5N1 HPAI was confirmed in a commercial hatchery in Roosevelt County. APHIS did not specify what type of hatchery was affected, but it did reveal that 61,500 birds were involved.

Until now, New Mexico had never had any commercial flocks affected during the 2022-24 HPAI outbreak, and only two backyard infections – with one of those being confirmed in November 2023 and the other in October 2023.

However, H5N1 has become a more common topic of concern in New Mexico in recent weeks, with the presence of the virus being confirmed in six dairy cattle herds in the state since the beginning of April. APHIS did not offer information concerning in which counties those bovine cases were confirmed, but a World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) report stated that five such instances were confirmed in Curry County.

In accordance with rules set by WOAH, backyard poultry and dairy cattle infections should not impact global poultry trade.

To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com. 

View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.