Indiana Governor weighs in on bird flu as farm outbreaks continue to grow

Bird flu has infected over ten farms in Indiana since the start of the year, amounting to over six million birds.

Governor Mike Braun said the state is monitoring the situation.

Braun put out a statement Thursday afternoon underlining that the state was monitoring both the impact of the outbreak on farmers and any risk of human exposure.

“The Indiana Department of Agriculture, working with the Board of Animal Health, is engaging with poultry producers, whether large-scale or hobby farms, to ensure close communication and cooperation,” Braun’s statement said. “DNR is monitoring the situation as it impacts recreation, hunting, and sports.”

Bird flu is a global virus that has been found in birds since the late 1800s. The virus has infected humans in the past but is increasingly concerning to scientists because of how many new animals it has found its way into, including the first-ever detections of bird flu in dairy cattle in the U.S. last year.

Ohio announced recently that a county bordering Indiana had the state's first probable human case of H5N1 or bird flu. The Indiana Department of Health, when reached for comment, noted there have so far been no detections in Indiana.

A spokesperson for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health said that the human case in Ohio would have minimal impact on how the department was managing the outbreak on farms. They said that workers on impacted farms are already being monitored by the health department and use personal protective equipment.

Christopher Stobart, a virologist at Butler University, said scientists worry about the virus being given more opportunities to spread.

“We know from scientific studies that the virus that currently is being spread between birds, and occasionally from birds to humans, only needs one or two mutations to cause it to spread effectively between humans,” he said.

A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the virus may be spilling over from dairy cows into humans undetected, with some veterinarians who work with cattle showing antibodies for H5N1, which indicates they likely had recent infections.

Stobart said close monitoring is important –– and he worries about a clampdown in communications from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instituted by the current administration.

“Having active communication and knowing what's happening allows us to prepare ourselves for what may happen, and make sure we have the infrastructure, the medical infrastructure and scientific infrastructure to handle it,” he said.

Since 2024, the CDC has reported 68 cases of bird flu in humans, although those have generally been mild and not contagious from person to person. And the first human death due to the virus was reported in Louisiana in January. That person was reportedly over the age of 65 and had underlying medical conditions.

The CDC maintains that the food supply remains safe so long as people are consuming meat and eggs cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit and pasteurized milk.

Contact Health Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org.