Federal officials today reported Montana's first two highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu outbreaks, part of ongoing high-path avian flu activity affecting half of US states, as Indiana reported another commercial farm outbreak, its first in about a month.

Activity pushes northwestward

Montana's outbreaks both involved backyard flocks, one in Cascade County, which includes Great Falls, and one in neighboring Judith Basin County, according to a statement from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

The latest detection pushes the scope of the outbreak northwestward, following last week's announcement of Wyoming's first outbreak.

Though no wild bird detections have been reported from Montana, in March, Canadian officials reported H5N1 in a bald eagle found dead near Vancouver, thought to be the first high-path detection of the year in the Pacific Flyway.

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