January 29, 2026
www.gfb.org
Vol. 8 No. 2
HPAI CONFIRMED AT SECOND WALKER CO. FARM & AT HART CO. POULTRY FARM
by Georgia Department of Agriculture Since Jan. 24, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA), in coordination with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), has confirmed a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) at a second Walker County commercial poultry farm and has confirmed a first case of HPAI at a commercial poultry farm in Hart County. The second Walker County case, which GDA announced Jan. 24, marks the second detection of HPAI in a commercial poultry operation in Georgia in 2026 and the fifth detection overall since the nationwide outbreak began in February 2022. GDA announced the first HPAI case at a Walker County commercial poultry farm on Jan. 13. On Jan. 28, GDA announced a positive case of HPAI at a Hart County commercial poultry farm that is a broiler-breeder operation with about 39,600 at the time of detection. This positive case is the third this year in a commercial operation and the sixth detection overall in Georgia since the national outbreak that began in February 2022. The second affected premises in Walker County, designated Walker 02, is located within the existing control area for the first case and housed approximately 16,000 broiler breeder chickens. In response, state and federal response teams carried out on-site operations to protect animal health, safeguard personnel, and prevent further spread of the virus. As a result of this swift response, depopulation at Walker 02 was completed on Jan. 23. “Through routine surveillance testing, a second commercial poultry operation in Walker County has been confirmed positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. Control area testing is critical to identifying the virus as early as possible and limiting its spread into the environment,” said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper. “HPAI poses a serious threat to Georgia’s number one industry and to the thousands of Georgians whose livelihoods depend on poultry production. The Georgia Department of Agriculture deployed immediately to Walker 02, and our teams are working around the clock to contain the virus, protect our state’s poultry flock, and minimize impacts to other producers and Georgia consumers.” On Jan. 22, premovement samples were collected from the second Walker County commercial poultry farm and the Georgia Poultry Lab Network (GPLN) returned a presumptive positive result for HPAI. This early notification allowed GDA to immediately initiate on-site response operations in accordance with animal disease response protocols, without waiting for confirmatory testing