The Free Press interviewed Dr. Kimberly Dodd, the dean of the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine, about efforts to tame the H5N1 bird flu outbreak.

The virus has affected 344,100 birds in the last month at Michigan commercial farms on the west side of the state.

Following confirmation of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, more than 100 chickens, geese, ducks and other birds at a farm in Waterford Township were culled. The birds at Hess-Hathaway Park tested positive last week according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Urban Development (MDARD),

For the first time, birds in a Wayne County backyard flock have been sickened by the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus, MDARD reported.

The national spread of the disease has alarmed public health officials, who remain concerned it could spread to humans on a large scale.

Bird flu has been detected in a Georgia commercial poultry flock for the first time since a countrywide outbreak in 2022

Federal and state officials race to contain any further spread of the virus and suspended poultry sales at auctions and flea markets until further notice.