Kitsap County’s first 2024 detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in a backyard poultry operation in South Kitsap. The map can be found at:
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=5bb22df733ae49b29ac7b3cc3c7fc3e3
The highly contagious virus spreads rapidly in poultry environments, causing severe illness or death among infected birds.
After a commercial detection:
State and federal animal health officials monitor flocks within a 10-kilometer area around the infected site for HPAI symptoms. Commercial flocks in that zone are required to monitor flock health very closely, with regular surveillance testing. They must also request permits from WSDA to move safe products out of or into the zone. Domestic flock owners in a control area are encouraged to self-report any illness or dead losses of their birds to WSDA using the online surveillance self-reporting tool.
What can the public do?
If a flock experiences sudden death or illness of multiple birds, use the new online reporting tool or call WSDA’s Sick Bird Hotline at 1-800-606-3056. Birds that have already died should be double-bagged and kept in a cooler on ice until WSDA veterinarians can arrange for sampling.
Sick or dead wild birds should not be touched or moved and can be reported using the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s online reporting tool.