Health officials are warning northern Indiana residents to take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes after detecting a rare and potentially deadly mosquito-borne virus in the region.

The Indiana State Board of Animal Health said Monday that laboratory testing of a commercial duck flock in Elkhart County has come back as presumptively positive for the virus.

Laboratory testing of a second commercial duck flock in Elkhart County came back as presumptively positive for the virus, the Indiana State Board of Animal Health said.

Laboratory testing of a commercial duck flock in Elkhart County has come back as presumptively positive avian influenza. So far this year, the virus has been confirmed in 24 states affecting chickens and turkeys.

Laboratory testing of a fourth commercial turkey flock in Dubois County has come back as presumptively positive for the virus, the Indiana State Board of Animal Health said. The samples are being verified at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa.

Avian influenza has been detected in a fourth commercial poultry flock in southern Indiana, state officials said Saturday.

A strain of avian flu has been found at a third commercial turkey farm in southern Indiana, state officials said Thursday.

Some zoos, including Indianapolis, are giving animals an experimental vaccine to protect against COVID-19. But is a vaccine needed for household pets?

Many have worried if COVID 19 can impact animals. Indiana State Veterinarian Bret Marsh says that has not been confirmed.

State Board of Animal Health spokeswoman Denise Derrer said Monday the last positive bird flu case was Jan. 16 in Dubois County, Indiana's top turkey-producing county.