Detection and Quarantine: 

When You Have HPAI in Your Poultry Flock 

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is one of the most serious diseases that 

can affect your poultry flock. It is deadly for poultry, spreads quickly, and can 

devastate entire industries. In short, an HPAI outbreak is an animal disease 

emergency. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and States have 

authority to respond and protect our country’s poultry and livestock from 

harmful diseases. If there is HPAI at your farm or close to it, you’ll see Federal 

and State workers responding in the local area. In the first days of the response, 

our top priority is to immediately contain the outbreak and protect animal 

health. 

Diagnosis and Testing 

We can make an early diagnosis of HPAI based on what we observe in your 

flock. If poultry show signs of infection, we consider it a “suspect case” until we 

receive test results. This means we can start working with you right away to put 

measures in place that will stop the disease from spreading. 

For HPAI testing, trained personnel need to collect samples from your poultry. 

The samples first go to a National Animal Health Laboratory Network 

(NAHLN) lab for diagnosis. The NAHLN includes State, university, and Federal 

laboratories located throughout the United States. 

This network has the capacity to handle a large volume of sample testing and 

give results quickly—in most cases, the same day a lab receives samples. With a 

positive test result (H5 or H7 avian influenza) from the NAHLN laboratory, the 

suspect case now becomes a “presumptive positive.” This allows us to assign 

you a case manager, and move forward with confirmatory testing, and initiating 

the response. 

Results are confirmed and tested for pathogenicity at the NVSL, the official 

reference laboratory for foreign animal disease testing in the United States. The 

NVSL handles all confirmatory testing for HPAI in our country. NVSL results 

give us more information about the virus (such as its subtype and genetic 

sequence). It typically takes NVSL 1-2 days to complete this work, but it may 

take longer and additional samples may be needed to complete the testing. 

Quarantine 

One of the most effective ways to stop HPAI from spreading is to set up a 

quarantine. Only authorized individuals can come in and out of infected farms 

that are quarantined. There are various movement restrictions for poultry, 

poultry products, and equipment from quarantined properties and surrounding 

areas. These controls on movement may allow some commerce to continue 

without creating an undue risk for animal health. 

ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE 

If your birds appear sick, report it 

to your veterinarian. Samples will 

be collected from your farm to 

check for HPAI. Testing may also occur 

without your reporting sick birds 

if other HPAI cases are 

already in your local area. 

If you do have HPAI in your flock, 

you will first find out from a State or 

Federal veterinarian. He or she will 

inform you after preliminary testing 

is finished, usually within 24 hours 

after collecting samples from your farm. 

HOW WILL I KNOW?
ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE

For example, poultry and other animals generally can’t be moved at all from 

farms with an HPAI detection or flocks with a known exposure to HPAI, as 

well as those being investigated for HPAI signs. For properties outside the 

control area, there are often no movement restrictions; however, we monitor 

for HPAI through routine surveillance testing. 

Initial quarantine authority rests with State government. The State issues 

quarantines and/or other restrictions that cover movements. Restrictions will 

vary depending on the State’s own authorities and regulations and the scope of 

the outbreak. In some cases, USDA may issue a declaration of emergency 

under the Secretary's order. 

Tracking Disease Spread 

In an HPAI outbreak, it is crucial to find out where the infection came from 

and where it may have spread. To do this, we investigate and trace the 

movement of animals in and out of your farm, leading up to when HPAI 

was found in your flock and right after the detection. This is called an 

“epidemiological investigation.” 

Our goals are to: 

• define the nature of the outbreak,

• identify the risk factors for disease spread,

• develop ways to reduce those risks, and

• locate all other infected or potentially infected sites.

This information helps us respond to the outbreak more effectively and stop

the disease in its tracks. We can find infected poultry quickly and eliminate 

disease pockets before the outbreak has a chance to spread any further. The 

information also helps us give more detail on how you can best protect flocks

from HPAI, based on the specifics of your own farm and how the disease got 

there. In doing so, we can better protect your operation and the poultry 

industry as a whole.

For More Information

If you have specific questions, talk with your case manager or call the nearest

USDA office (www.aphis.usda.gov/animal-health/state-offices). 

For general information on HPAI and emergency response, go to 

www.usda.gov/avian_influenza.html, www.aphis.usda.gov/

animalhealth/defendtheflock and www.aphis.usda.gov/fadprep. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

APHIS 91-85-008 

Issued May 2017

Following quarantines, using 

proper biosecurity, and 

supporting the disease response 

are the most important 

things you can do to keep HPAI 

from spreading. The faster we 

can contain the disease, 

the faster you can get 

back to business.

ACTIONS YOU NEED TO TAKE

Here are your main responsibilities at this 

early stage of the response: 

• Know and adhere to all quarantine

restrictions.

• Follow strict biosecurity procedures

on your farm. Our emergency

response team will instruct you on

what to do.

• Train your employees on

biosecurity. USDA has training

materials if you need them.

• Allow Federal and State personnel

access to your property to collect

test samples and carry out

emergency response work.

• Work with USDA and State officials

to complete required paperwork,

including an inventory of your flock.

We’ll let you know what details

we need.

• Respond as quickly and completely

as you can to our information

requests during the epidemiological

investigation.