USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in two new states this week – Indiana and Nebraska.

The H5N8 strain of avian influenza was discovered in a backyard mixed-poultry flock in Whitley County, Indiana. This is significant because while there have been multiple detections of HPAI H5N2 in the Mississippi flyway, this is the first finding of HPAI H5N8 in the Mississippi flyway, which previously had only been confirmed in the Pacific flyway.

In Nebraska, the presence of highly pathogenic H5N2 HPAI has been confirmed in a 1.7 million bird commercial layer flock in Dixon County. The latest discoveries brings the total number of states affected to 15 with around 150 cases involving well over 32 million birds. Iowa has a number of suspected cases yet to be confirmed that could bring that total closer to 40 million.