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Lethal Strain of Avian Flu Makes Its Way East to Indiana

By REUTERS
A strain of the avian flu that had recently been found only in the Western United States has been confirmed in a backyard poultry flock in Indiana, the Agriculture Department said on Monday. The eastward spread is worrying to farmers and state and federal investigators alike, who had hoped that warmer weather would help lower the number of infections. Three strains of highly pathogenic H5 have been identified in North America in this outbreak. The H5N8 strain in Indiana is the same one that had been previously confirmed in the Pacific flyway, specifically in commercial chicken and turkey farms in California. Another strain of the H5 virus, H5N2, has been spreading rapidly across the Midwest in recent weeks and resulted in nearly 30 million birds either dying or being killed as a result of the outbreak. Canadian authorities have confirmed the H5N1 strain in British Columbia.
A version of this brief appears in print on May 12, 2015, on page B2 of the New York edition with the headline: Lethal Strain of Avian Flu Makes Its Way East to Indiana. Order Reprints|  Today's Paper|Subscribe