Kansas is experiencing the worst bird flu outbreak since 2023, affecting more than 10 counties, with three being forced to quarantine commercial and non-commercial backyards. Counties like Pottawatomie County, Greenwood County, Nemaha County and more have relied on quarantine for exposure protection. 

Heather Lansdowne, director of communications for the Kansas Department of Agriculture, defines HPAI as a “rapidly spreading viral disease that is highly contagious in poultry and has a very high death rate among infected birds.” 

There have been multiple outbreaks of the disease since 2021, and recently, cases have begun to appear throughout Kansas.

“Beginning in mid-December, we have seen several new cases across the state from north central Kansas to southeast Kansas,” Lansdowne said. 

Lansdowne refers to a map presented on their website where poultry owners can determine if their location is within a current “control area.”

Clinical assistant professor, Dr. Lance Noll, describes the outbreak as linked to “wild bird migrations,” which explains the reasons for HPAI appearing at various times between 2021 and now. 

“As they [birds] begin their fall migrations across the continent, the state usually faces an increased risk of HPAI introduction and spread,” Noll said. “We kind of saw a reemergence of it back in 2021, and it really hits again every season.” 

Noll also serves as a section head for Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, a K-State-affiliated laboratory focusing on diagnostic testing, disease surveillance and outbreak responses. A majority of the testing is focused on wildlife surveillance.  

Lansdowne advises anyone who owns poultry, even in a small backyard flock, to take the necessary steps needed to eliminate any possible exposure to wild migratory birds. 

The steps include wearing clean clothing, boots and shoes when in contact with your flock, keeping your poultry in an enclosure that wild birds can’t enter, covering and enclosing outdoor feeding areas, isolating new birds, cleaning vehicle tires or equipment that has been on other farms or other locations where there is poultry or wild birds and monitoring for symptoms.

A list of symptoms can be found on the KDA website.