Georgia agriculture officials have lifted the control zone surrounding a Gordon County poultry farm nearly a month after a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed at the site. The Georgia Department of Agriculture announced that all required surveillance testing within the designated area has been completed and no additional infections were found.
The original detection was confirmed on October 24, when state and federal animal health authorities verified the presence of HPAI at a commercial poultry operation in the county. It was the third affected commercial facility — and the fifth overall case — reported in Georgia this year. Although the control area has now been released, the agency emphasized that the virus continues to pose a serious threat to Georgia’s poultry industry.
The investigation began on October 22, when a local poultry producer observed symptoms consistent with avian influenza and notified the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network. Samples collected the following day tested positive for HPAI, with federal confirmation arriving shortly after.
Emergency response teams were deployed to the site to carry out depopulation, disposal, and extensive cleaning procedures. The impacted facility had housed roughly 140,000 broiler chickens. A 6.2-mile control radius was established, placing all commercial poultry farms in that zone under quarantine for heightened monitoring.
Roughly 50 additional poultry operations fell within the control area and were subject to movement restrictions and routine testing. According to state officials, the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network conducted 1,790 tests on more than 10,000 birds and collected samples from hundreds of flocks. No further traces of the virus were detected. During the response period, the state issued 50 permits allowing regulated movement of birds or materials, covering about 356 total movements.
The Gordon County case occurred amid a national outbreak that began in 2022. More than 182 million birds have been affected across the United States during the ongoing event, including an estimated 340,000 in Georgia as of October.
