On Dec. 2, 2022, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed confirmed the state’s first detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a non-commercial flock in Columbia County. The affected flock included approximately 20 chickens.

ODA personnel, in partnership with the USDA humanely euthanized the birds on the property to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock did not enter the food system. ODA advised commercial poultry farms and backyard flock owners to be vigilant with biosecurity measures and surveillance.