Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera declared a disaster emergency Thursday due to a large outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza.highly pathogenic avian influenza) is located in Weld County, north of Denver.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) told local media Fox 31 News broke that an egg-laying facility in the county tested presumptive positive for HPAI, also known as avian influenza.

CDA officials told media outlets that dead chickens were being tested at the facility, which houses 1.3 million chickens, due to “elevated mortality reports.”

It’s unclear how many birds there are May be infected.

USDA workers disinfect workers during an outbreak of bird flu on a farm. (Glenn Stubb/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

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Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was first detected in the United States in February 2022, affecting wild birds and poultry.

Records released by the CDA show that rash outbreak In July 2024, a fire broke out in Weld County, affecting three commercial poultry facilities that collectively housed nearly 3.4 million chickens.

Although the names of the businesses have not been made public, one of the affected facilities reported having 1,313,800 chickens.

A chicken is tested for bird flu. (iStock)

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It’s unclear if that facility is the same one that may have been affected. latest outbreak.

National statement activated national emergency operations plan and directs the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to take all necessary and appropriate actions to assist affected jurisdictions with response, recovery, and mitigation efforts.

The action also authorizes the use of disaster contingency funds and allows OEM to mobilize state resources, use emergency procurement procedures to enter into and award contracts, and retain and expend funds at the discretion of OEM directors.

CDA officials told media outlets that the facility was conducting tests on the dead chickens. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Photo/File Photo)

At the time of the statement, Primavera was serve as governor;Governor Jared Polis attends the Colorado River Negotiations Conference in Washington, D.C.

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The governor’s office said the decision was made in coordination with City-State.