Federal officials today announced that avian flu has struck flocks in five more states—Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wyoming—expanding outbreak activity westward and to nearly half of US states.

Four of the outbreaks involved backyard flocks, while North Carolina's outbreak involved commercial poultry. In a related development, Iowa reported two more outbreaks at commercial farms, including a large layer farm.

East, west expansion

The announcement from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today lifts the number of affected states to 23. Events have include both backyard flocks and commercial operations, mainly in the Midwest and East.

In North Carolina, where the virus had already been found in waterfowl surveillance, an outbreak struck a commercial farm in Johnston County, about 40 miles southeast of Raleigh.

Meanwhile, in the four states reporting their first outbreaks in backyard flocks, Massachusetts' detection occurred in Berkshire County, in the far west of the state. Ohio's outbreak occurred in backyard chickens in Franklin County, the home of Columbus.

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