Federal officials confirm bird flu detected in New York

NEW YORK (AP) - A highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in a non-commercial backyard flock of birds on Long Island in New York.

Samples from the flock were tested at the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center and confirmed at the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service laboratories in Ames, Iowa. The USDA announced the confirmation on Saturday.

New York state officials have quarantined the site in Suffolk County and officials said birds on the affected properties “will be depopulated to prevent the spread of disease.”

Also on Saturday, Indiana officials said a strain of avian flu has been found at a fourth commercial turkey farm in the southern part of the state.

The Indiana State Board of Animal Health said that laboratory testing of a second commercial flock of turkeys in Greene County has come back as presumptively positive for the virus. The samples are being verified at the USDA’s laboratory in Iowa.

Another possible case was found about 5 miles away in Greene County earlier in the week. Two previous cases were found in adjacent Dubois County.

The virus has also been detected in Kentucky and northern Virginia.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says the recent detections do not present an immediate public health concern. No human cases of these viruses have been detected in the U.S.

The USDA noted in a press release that cooking poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit kills bacteria and viruses.