JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi Board of Animal Health (MBAH) announced that poultry from a commercial broiler breeder chicken flock in Mississippi tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

Officials with the MBAH were notified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory about the positive test in Noxubee County. Samples from the flock were tested at the Mississippi Veterinary Research & Diagnostic Laboratory and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.

According to officials, the bird flu does not present a food safety risk, and poultry and eggs are safe to eat when handled and cooked properly. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the public health risk associated with avian influenza in birds remains low. The proper handling and cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F is recommended as a general food safety precaution.

According to the MBAH, the State Veterinarian has quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the property have been depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. They said birds from the flock have not entered the food system.

The MBAH is actively working with the poultry industry to increase monitoring of flocks statewide. This finding is the third case of HPAI in commercial poultry in Mississippi since the spring of 2023.

Since November 2024, HPAI has been detected in migratory waterfowl in multiple areas of Mississippi. The poultry industry was notified and put on high alert to increase biosecurity and surveillance for HPAI.