Officials say Indiana is bird flu free, but that doesn’t mean the virus is gone

Indiana officials say the state is declaring freedom from the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), or bird flu.

A HPAI-free status means a state or region has eliminated disease on all affected farms and no new infections are detected in a subsequent 28-day waiting period, according to the World Organization of Animal Health.

The declaration should help reduce some export restrictions and international trade barriers for Indiana's poultry and poultry products, according to state officials.

Indiana is a national leader in duck production, eggs, and turkeys, and is a significant producer of broilers.

State officials say while this status is a positive step, it's still important for poultry owners to take precautions on their farms.

“This isn't an all clear, and we have to get that footnote out there, because the virus is still floating around. We know it's still in the wild bird population,” said Denise Derrer Spears with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health. “We know it's still being identified on poultry farms in other states.”

Denise says strong biosecurity and minimizing contact with wild birds remain critical.

Specifically, farmers are being asked to keep wild birds separate from poultry as much as possible. Spears said bird flu incidences often die down during the summer and then pick up again in the fall, following wild bird migrations across the state.

Ultimately, the designation of being bird flu-free will have the largest impact on export restrictions with other countries.

“Countries will often use a disease that's present as a way to block trade in some way or to ban imports,” said Spears. “And so with that lifted, that frees up product to move to other areas, into other countries.”

The virus is still active across parts of the U.S., found in wild birds coast to coast, and in livestock like dairy cattle in 18 states, though not in Indiana, according to state officials.

Since the start of Indiana’s outbreak in 2022, the state has had to kill over 8 million birds — both commercial and noncommercial — as a result of infection.

Seventy people across the U.S. have contracted bird flu after exposure to the virus mainly through poultry farms and dairy herds. One person died. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk to humans remains low.

Contact Health Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org.