Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is a foreign animal disease that can be devastating to domestic poultry and some wild bird populations. On February 12, 2022, a broiler flock (231,400 birds) was detected to be infected with HPAI. HPAI was also detected in a turkey flock (53,300 toms) in Webster County on February 15, 2022. The federal and state response to HPAI infected flocks is to quarantine, depopulate and conduct surveillance with in a 6-mile radiance of the infected premise. One of the key factors to controlling an HPAI is to disseminate information in a timely manner. The need for outreach needed to be filled by UKY Extension. A rapid response plan was developed to educate the Agriculture and Natural Resources (A&NR) Extension Agents. On February 15^th, a zoom meeting was conducted for A&NR agents on HPAI and the KY situation. A recording of the zoom presentation was posted to the agents resource page https://youtu.be/7d6SViIUAkI. Two publications developed by the Kentucky State Veterinarian’s office, “Avian Influenza in Kentucky” handout and the “Sign of Avian Influenza “fact sheet were distributed to all A&NR agents on February 18^th.

 Outreach to the public included two television segments for the Farm and Home show on WBKO in Bowling Greene, which aired the weeks of February 28 and March 7. One was on AI in backyard flocks, and one was on AI in wild birds. A news release on HPAI was developed and released through the College of Agriculture Food and the Environment distribution list. The article was pick up by Morning AG Clips UK poultry specialists urge caution amid outbreak - Morning Ag Clips

In addition, Dr. Jacquie Jacob (UKY) has updated our web pages and social media. USDA/APHIS updates were posted on the eXtension small and backyard flocks Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/poultryextension. Updates were posted on the Kentucky-specific Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/KentuckyPoultry. Kentucky specific updates, with information on biosecurity, were posted on the 4-H Kentucky Poultry private group site -https://www.facebook.com/groups/552467918732345.

Information was posted on poultry section main page of Department of Animal and Food Sciences website - https://afs.ca.uky.edu/poultry (poultryextension.net takes you there) as well as the main extension page for small and backyard flocks (https://afs.ca.uky.edu/poultry/extension-small-and-medium-sized-operations – smallflocks.net and smallflocksextension.com take you there) and commercial poultry (https://afs.ca.uky.edu/poultry/extension-commercial-poultry-operations) extension pages. 

The rapid response and the wide reach of the outreach efforts by the University of Kentucky were used by the Kentucky State Veterinarian to partially meet the USDA requirement of outreach to all communities for the state to qualify for indemnity payments and meet the requirements of the World Animal Health Organization (OIE)