Highly pathogenic avian influenza, more commonly called bird flu, has been gradually spreading across Kentucky since December 2024, when it was confirmed in geese at a wildlife management area in Henderson County.
Its spread is made possible by migratory birds, particularly those traveling along the Mississippi Flyway, which includes Kentucky. The virus, H5N1, is highly deadly to birds, but it can also infect mammals, including humans via exposure to infected cows, for example.
In 2022, there were at least two outbreaks among commercial flocks in Kentucky and one in a backyard mixed flock in Fayette County, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of birds at the sites…