Bird Flu Detected In Mercer Co.

CELINA - The National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) detection in Mercer County Tuesday involving 4,525 commercial turkeys, according to an Ohio Department of Agriculture news release. HPAI, commonly known as bird flu, is a contagious viral disease that is a major threat to the poultry industry and animal health.

ODA does not identify individual farms during active cases, the release states. As required by ODA, the commercial facility in Mercer County where HPAI was detected is under quarantine and the birds have since been depopulated to prevent the spread of disease.

As defined on the USDA's HPAI page, "depopulation refers to the rapid destruction of a population of animals in response to urgent circumstances with as much consideration given to the welfare of the animals as practicable."

ODA also has set up a control area and surveillance zone at the location of the outbreak to monitor other facilities nearby and be sure USDA guidelines are followed, the release states. The control area and surveillance zones at the unidentified commercial facility in Mercer County remain active.

This is the fourth positive detection of bird flu in Ohio in 2025, according to ODA's HPAI page, which tracks outbreaks throughout the state as they happen.

Since the start of 2025, the National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the following three bird flu detections in Darke County: on Tuesday, a detection was confirmed involving 9,901 commercial turkeys; on Jan. 9, a detection was confirmed involving 21,132 commercial turkeys; and on Jan. 8, a detection was confirmed involving 245,280 commercial layers (chickens).

All of the involved poultry have since been depopulated, per the ODA HPAI web page. The unidentified sites of the detections in Darke County remain active control areas and surveillance zones.

The National Veterinary Services Laboratory previously confirmed a bird flu detection in Darke County on Dec. 27, 2024, involving nearly 1 million commercial chickens, according to an ODA news release.

This was the first commercial outbreak of bird flu in Ohio in 2024, ODA Director Brian Baldridge previously told The Daily Standard.

The laboratory confirmed a bird flu detection in Darke County involving 931,302 commercial layers.

The nearly 1 million chickens have since been depopulated, the release states.

On Dec. 31, 2024, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife shared that they're considering the reports of dead wild birds found in Auglaize and Mercer counties as presumed positive for bird flu, per an ODNR news release.

In the final weeks of 2024, Canada geese, trumpeter swans and one mallard duck were reported dead and were tested.

"While awaiting test results from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratory, the Division of Wildlife is considering reports of dead birds in Auglaize, Mercer, Erie, Huron, Lucas, Montgomery, Richland, Sandusky, and Warren counties as presumed positive for HPAI," the release states.

HPAI occurs naturally in bird populations and is monitored closely by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center. Native Ohio birds such as shorebirds, raptors and waterfowl are vulnerable to HPAI. Domestic chickens and turkeys are also vulnerable to HPAI. The virus is transmitted from bird to bird through feeding and interactions.

In an interview with The Daily Standard, Baldridge said the key to containing bird flu in commercial livestock operations is to operate as a closed facility.

"One, our biggest concern with bird flu is wild birds and the migratory birds that have moved. Keeping regular birds that we see flying around every day out of their facilities. As we look at birds and different types of wild birds, we kind of look at them and say, 'OK, they could be a carrier.' The goal is to keep them out of the facilities. And then, even as far as basic safety, just not going to a neighbor's facility with your dirty boots, and or your feed trucks. Making sure that those feed trucks are not going from one farm to the next where they could be spreading anything within that movement."

The current risk to the general public regarding bird flu is low, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the USDA, bird flu cannot be transmitted through properly cooked meats or eggs. Products from any HPAI-affected flocks are prohibited from entering the food system. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 degrees is recommended as a general food safety precaution.