Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a deadly poultry 

disease that can affect your flock. It spreads quickly and can 

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

animal health emergency. 

When HPAI is detected on your property or close to it, the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) and your State government 

will work with you and others in the local area to immediately 

contain the outbreak and protect animal health. Here’s what 

you can expect in the first days and weeks of an outbreak in 

your area.

Testing and Diagnosis

If your birds appear sick, USDA or State officials will collect 

samples from your flock to check for HPAI. We may also test your 

flock without you reporting sick birds if HPAI has been detected 

elsewhere in your local area.

We will send the samples to a nearby laboratory in the National 

Animal Health Laboratory Network for preliminary testing. This 

network includes State, university, and Federal laboratories 

throughout the United States that have the capacity to handle a 

large volume of testing and give results quickly—in most cases, 

the same day a lab receives samples. 

We will also send samples to the National Veterinary Services 

Laboratories (NVSL) for confirmation. NVSL is the official 

reference laboratory for foreign animal disease testing, including 

HPAI, in the United States. NVSL usually takes 1–2 days to 

complete this work, but it can take longer, and we may need to 

collect additional samples to complete the testing.

Quarantine

If you have HPAI in your flock, we will help you put in place 

measures to stop the disease from spreading. This includes 

placing your operation under quarantine. In a quarantine, only 

authorized workers can come in and out of infected properties, 

and the movement of poultry, poultry products, and equipment 

from quarantined properties is restricted. In a quarantine, your 

main responsibilities are to:

 Know and comply with all quarantine restrictions.

 Continue to follow strict biosecurity procedures on 

your premises. 

 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. 

 Respond as quickly and completely as you can to information 

requests during the epidemiological investigation.

Following quarantine requirements, using proper biosecurity, 

and cooperating with Federal and State officials 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.

Tracking Disease Spread

During an HPAI outbreak, USDA and State officials will also work 

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, people, and equipment in and out of your premises, 

leading up to when HPAI was found in your flock and immediately 

afterward. This is called an epidemiological investigation. 

The information we gain from the investigation helps us respond 

to the outbreak more effectively and stop the disease in its tracks. 

It also tells us how you can best protect your flock from HPAI in 

the future, based on the specifics of your facility and how the 

disease got there. Working together, we can better protect your 

flock and the poultry industry as a whole. 

Questions? 

Talk with your case manager or call the nearest USDA Veterinary 

Services office (www.aphis.usda.gov/animal-health; click on 

“Contact Us”). 

What To Expect at the 

Start of an Outbreak

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)

Learn more about how to protect your flock from HPAI and other diseases: 

aphis.usda.gov/animalhealth/defendtheflock ▪ cdc.gov/flu/avianflu

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. APHIS-22-012 | Issued April 2022