For the first time since the 2022 countrywide outbreak, bird flu hit a poultry producer in Georgia, the nation's top state for chicken production. The state Department of Agriculture announced Friday that the agency has detected a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza at a commercial poultry producer in Elbert County,

Georgia, the leading state in chicken production, reported its first commercial poultry bird flu case, prompting immediate action to curb the virus. The agriculture department has quarantined surrounding areas and halted poultry events,

This story was updated at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, with more information. The bird flu has reached the state’s prized poultry industry, with the first commercial case of bird flu hitting a producer in northeast Georgia.