Bird flu cases are on the rise in Sonoma County after three farms tested positive for the deadly virus beginning in late October, according to recent data from the U.S. Agriculture Department.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, a deadly strain of bird flu, was detected by the USDA in three Sonoma County poultry farms on Oct. 27, Oct. 28 and Nov. 5. The unnamed farms had a collective 351,700 birds killed, according to data gathered by the agency.
Last month, the Press Democrat independently found that Reichardt Duck Farm in Petaluma was the first farm to test positive in California this fall. Farm owner Phil Reichardt told the Press Democrat that his staff first noticed a few birds had died on the farm before the death count spiked. Bird samples were taken to UC Davis for analysis and later tested positive for HPAI on Oct. 24. Reichardt Duck Farm eventually euthanized 57,000 birds as a result, the Press Democrat reported. SFGATE reached out to Reichardt Duck Farm but did not hear back by publication time…