ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – There are growing concerns about bird flu spreading through livestock and poultry in the U.S., including here in New Mexico.

On Tuesday, officials with our state Department of Agriculture confirmed they detected the virus at a poultry farm in eastern New Mexico. 

The state veterinarian revealed the infected poultry farm is somewhere in Roosevelt County, but she can’t say exactly where.

This is just two weeks after officials confirmed cases at two dairy farms in nearby Curry County.

While there’s no evidence directly connecting those cases, it’s important to know there are three more recent cases in chicken flocks in the Texas panhandle, and even more at other dairy farms.

The New Mexico state veterinarian revealed cows and chickens are testing positive for the same, highly-infectious strain of bird flu – which they’re also finding in migratory birds.

According to the CDC, this specific strain of bird flu has already affected 85 million birds of all types across 48 states since 2022. But officials say these recent cases are not necessarily alarming.

“Historically there have been peaks in avian influenza cases, over the last couple of years. Generally, in spring and fall, they coincide with migration of migratory birds. And so I think that there’s not necessarily an increased risk overall, nationwide,” said Samantha Uhrig, a New Mexico state veterinarian. 

However, she admits this recent surge of cases is unique. There are dozens of confirmed cases in dairy cattle across several states – which is new for this virus.

It’s not deadly for the cows, but it does reduce milk production.

A dairy farmworker in Texas also tested positive for the virus earlier this month. It’s the second human case ever reported for this strain of the virus. But health officials revealed the patient’s main symptom was only pink eye.

The state veterinarian says all of the chickens at the affected poultry farm here in New Mexico will be euthanized – that’s pretty standard for these outbreaks.

As for how they got the virus in the first place, she says epidemiologists are still figuring that out, and there are still a lot of unknowns right now.

“I’m talking with my counterparts in other states and talking with our federal counterparts, trying to understand the big picture a little bit better, because this is really different than anything we’ve ever seen,” said Uhrig. “How we’re seeing it move through a herd and then how it can affect other herds. This has not been an easy puzzle to solve.”

She theorizes recent natural disasters like wildfires in Texas may have altered flight paths for migratory birds carrying the disease, but that’s just a theory.

Health officials are asking anyone with backyard chickens or other bird flocks to keep an eye on them, and report any symptoms resembling bird flu.

Symptoms to look for:

• Sudden death without any prior symptoms of illness
• Lack of energy and appetite
• A drop in egg production or soft-shelled, misshapen eggs
• Swelling of the eyelids, comb, wattles, and shanks
• Purple discoloration of the wattles, comb, and legs
• Gasping for air (difficulty breathing)
• Nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing
• Twisting of the head and neck (torticollis)
• Stumbling or falling down
• Diarrhea