State agencies are issuing avian influenza (HPAI) precautions after detection of the virus in locations they manage. Although the chance of encountering a diseased animal—even less of catching or transmitting it—the safety steps are simple and procedures most readers likely already follow.

The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources is receiving increasing reports of sick or dead wild birds on the Eastern Shore.

The newly reported H5N9 strain was found Monday at a duck farm in Merced County, California, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. The Paris-based organization that studies animal diseases said it's the first verified U.S. case of H5N9 in poultry. The organization said the more common strain H5N1 was also found.

Minnesota and Iowa were added to the National Milk Testing Strategy on Jan. 8. There are now 36 states involved in the testing for the avian influenza virus.

The two Victorian H7 strains of avian influenza have been successfully eradicated, but some farmers fear more frequent outbreaks and egg shortages could be on the horizon.

With the advent of cases of avian flu in southern New England, and the rise in egg prices due to limited supply as a result, concerns are rising about the threat and impact of the fowl-borne illness.

A prophylactic antibody-based immune therapy protects monkeys against severe disease caused by H5N1 avian flu, University of Pittsburgh and NIH Vaccine Research Center researchers report today in Science.

State agricultural officials have suspended all poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets, and sales at flea markets or auction markets in response to the ongoing threat of avian flu. In a Thursday press release,

The recent uptick of highly pathogenic avian influenza across the state of Indiana has producers on high alert to curb the spread of the virus. Denise Derrer Spears with Indiana’s State Board of Animal Health says more than a six mile barrier is put in place immediately following a positive test result.

Two European regulators said on Wednesday they were tracking variants of the avian influenza virus due to the threat of the pathogen adapting to spread between humans and triggering future pandemics, reported Reuters .

The Akron Zoo is taking extra precautions to protect its animals amid an ongoing bird flu outbreak across the country. Zoo officials took to social media Thursday morning, confirming they were temporarily moving some of their birds indoors “as a precaution for our birds’ safety as cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have been detected in Ohio.