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Michigan continues to deal with bird flu outbreaks after recent case in Oakland County

Michigan continues to deal with bird flu outbreaks after most recent outbreak in Oakland County
Michigan continues to deal with bird flu outbreaks after most recent outbreak in Oakland County 01:58

(CBS DETROIT) — Michigan officials announced another outbreak of bird flu in Oakland County last week. Officials say the continued cases stem from a long-lasting flare-up of the virus over the last couple of years.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) reported eight detections of the virus since mid-December. Six were in commercial production sites, and the other two were in backyard chicken flocks. 

"It continues to be a really challenging disease to work through," said MDARD director Tim Boring. "We're seeing impacts all across the country to this in a variety of different poultry species of whether it's turkeys or broilers or egg layers."

Officials say domestic flocks are often initially infected by wild birds.    

"So making sure that poultry on a commercial setting in a backyard setting are isolated from those birds. We don't have shared water, shared feed. Those things continue to be really important," said Boring. 

Michigan State University has played an important role in responding to the virus. The university's lab has worked alongside MDARD and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to test samples from flocks and dairy herds. Dr. Kim Dodd, who serves as dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, said there isn't an end in sight to this outbreak just yet. 

"I think we continue to be in the thick of it at this stage," she said. "But this is why it's so important for us to work together within our state and across states to get a better a better understanding of how broadly the virus is circulating."

Dodd and Boring both said that the current risk to humans remains low, but if you come in contact with wild birds or a backyard flock, you should wash your hands well and disinfect any equipment.    

"For backyard flock owners to make sure that they're wearing clean clothes when they're handling their birds as well and not inadvertently tracking something home," said Dodd.

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