Indiana To Lift Most Bird Flu Outbreak Restrictions Feb. 22

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Animal health officials monitoring a bird flu outbreak in southwestern Indiana say most restrictions on poultry in that region will be lifted in two weeks if no additional cases are found.

State Board of Animal Health spokeswoman Denise Derrer said Monday the last positive bird flu case was Jan. 16 in Dubois County, Indiana's top turkey-producing county.

Derrer says if no additional cases are found, testing and surveillance of commercial poultry farms will end Feb. 22 within a 12.4-mile radius around the first farm where the virus was detected.

While those restrictions will be lifted, quarantines will remain in place on the 10 affected farms until they're declared virus-free. More than 414,000 turkeys and chickens were euthanized at those farms to help contain the outbreak of the H7N8 viral strain.