SALEM — Another backyard poultry flock has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

State agriculture officials confirmed the disease was detected July 6 in a non-commercial flock of about 40 chickens in Linn County. The flock’s owner had contacted the Oregon Department of Agriculture to report sick and dying birds. 

ODA says birds from the flock have since been euthanized, and will not enter the food system.

It is the fourth case of bird flu in a backyard flock in Oregon this year, with the first being reported May 6, also in Linn County. Two other cases have been found in Lane and Polk counties. So far, the disease has not struck any commercial poultry in the state.

While bird flu does not pose any immediate public health concern, ODA advises both commercial poultry farmers and backyard flock owners to be vigilant with biosecurity measures. “Reducing or eliminating contact between wild birds and domestic flocks is the best way to protect domestic birds from this disease,” the agency stated.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the latest strain of H5N1 bird flu has infected more than 40 million poultry in 37 states nationwide, along with 1,805 wild birds in 43 states.