Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) | UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

2025 CDC survey for backyard flock owners in English

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is interested in learning more about backyard flock owners and their flocks. The anonymous survey asks about:

● Characteristics of backyard flock owners, their families, and their flocks.
● Knowledge of H5 bird flu and signs and symptoms of H5 bird flu in birds and humans.
● Perceived risk of and concern about H5 bird flu to their backyard flock and themselves/families.
● Attitudes towards reporting sick or dead birds and protective measures like vaccination of their flock.
● Practices they use to protect their flock and themselves from H5 bird flu.

CDC will use the survey results to improve H5 bird flu prevention activities.

Survey

Los Centros para el Control de Enfermedades (CDC en Inglés) están interesados en saber más sobre los dueños de aves de corral domésticas y sus aves. La encuesta anónima pregunta sobre:

● Las características de los dueños de aves de corral domésticas, sus familias y sus aves.
● Lo que saben sobre la influenza aviar H5, y los signos y síntomas de la influenza aviar H5 en las aves y los seres humanos.
● El riesgo percibido y las preocupaciones que tengan sobre la influenza aviar H5 en sus aves de corral domésticas, sus familias y ellos mismos.
● Sus actitudes sobre la notificación de aves enfermas o muertas y las medidas de protección, como vacunar sus aves.
● Las prácticas que usan para proteger a sus aves y protegerse a sí mismos contra la influenza aviar H5.

Los CDC usarán los resultados de la encuesta para mejorar las actividades de prevención de la influenza aviar H5.

Encuesta

News and Detections

Check out these links to get the latest detection updates:

New HPAI resource page now live!
The California Dairy Quality Assurance Program (CDQAP) has launched a new resource page on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Stay informed with the latest updates, biosecurity guidance, and resources to help protect livestock and poultry.

Updates from the California Department of Food and Agriculture

A letter to California backyard poultry owners on Bird Flu (aka Avian Influenza)

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has issued a letter outlining the Bird Flu outbreak, the poultry and dairy cattle exhibition ban, clinical signs, wild bird encounter guidelines, human exposure precautions, and biosecurity recommendations.

California Poultry and Dairy Cattle Exhibition Ban

The California State Veterinarian has placed a ban on poultry and dairy cattle exhibitions at fairs and shows until further notice. The full letter is available in English, Spanish, and Hmong.

Additional HPAI updates from CDFA are available here.

**Example of twisted neck (PC: Pamela Hullinger).**

Have sick birds?

Please monitor your birds for the following symptoms:

Trouble breathing
Clear, runny discharge from nose, mouth, and eyes
Lethargy or lack of energy
Loss of appetite
Drinking less
Swollen eyes, head, wattles, or combs
Discolored or bruised comb, wattles, or legs
Stumbling, falling, or twisted neck
Sudden death

Please report any unusual or suspicious sick or dead domestic, pet or collection of birds, to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Sick Bird Hotline at (866) 922-2473.

Any suspicious wild bird deaths can be reported to California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) with this form.

Bird Flu & Public Health

California Department of Public Health
The California Department of Public Health provides detailed information about influenza in animals on its dedicated website. Additionally, an educational flyer on worker protection from Bird Flu is available in English and Spanish, outlining preventive measures, symptoms, and the importance of reporting suspected cases to help mitigate the spread of the virus.

$10M CDC flu initiative focuses on livestock workers

The CDC will fund seasonal flu vaccinations for workers in the poultry and dairy industries in an effort to prevent H5N1 from mixing with other influenza A viruses and reassorting into a new strain. The initiative does not include offering H5N1 vaccines to people. The agency is also allocating $5 million to educate livestock industry workers about influenza and teach them how to protect themselves from avian influenza. Full Story: CDC will offer seasonal flu shots to farmworkers to lower bird flu risk

Biosecurity Tips

An Activity about Disease Transmission - Dr. Rodrigo Gallardo

Disease Transmission and Practical Biosecurity - Dr. Maurice Pitesky

Backyard Poultry Disease Basics (RootSimple Podcast)

Additional Resources

California Dairy Quality Assurance Program- Bird Flu Homepage

HPAI Maps

Check out this new Wild Bird Avian Influenza Surveillance Dashboard by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Please note, the dashboard only displays results from samples collected as part of the USDA WS National Wildlife Disease Program's wild bird surveillance program.

A team from UC Davis and UC ANR has created an interactive map showing the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) among wildlife and domestic animals over two years, from North to South America.

North American data includes both domestic and wild animals, while South American data only covers wildlife. Inconsistencies in South American wildlife data arise from varied surveillance and some countries stopping reports of HPAI H5N1 cases to WAHIS/WOAH since late 2023.

The maps below were created by our lab also using data from USDA and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). In other words, these maps include both domestic and wild bird cases.

2022-2023 HPAI US

Last updated February 21, 2023.

2022-2023 HPAI CA

Last updated February 21, 2023.

2014-2015 HPAI Map