Ag News
Georgia Dept. of Ag releases Gordon County HPAI control area
Posted on Nov 19, 2025 at 14:12 PM
On Nov. 17 the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) announced that it has officially released the HPAI Control Area designation for premises in Gordon County, following the successful completion of all required testing and response protocols and with no additional detections reported.
“While this announcement is a great step in the right direction, HPAI remains a significant threat to our No. 1 industry, and we will continue to work with poultry producers to protect our state’s flocks and to keep prices as low as possible for Georgia consumers,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said.
The GDA received notification of a positive HPAI test result from the Georgia Poultry Lab Network (GPLN) on the evening of Oct. 23. The test result was confirmed by USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory on Oct. 24.
The GDA immediately activated its Emergency Operations Center and staff began deploying to Gordon County on Oct. 24. Depopulation, disposal, cleaning and disinfecting operations at the Gordon County farm began on Oct. 24. GDA Law Enforcement officers maintained a biosecurity perimeter around the affected premises to prevent unauthorized access and limit further spread of the disease.
The GDA established a control area – a 10km (6.2 mile) radius around the affected premises. There were approximately 50 additional commercial poultry operations located within the control area. Every commercial operation within the control area was subjected to increased testing and movement controls based on their proximity to the affected premises. In response to this event, GPLN staff completed 1,790 tests representing 10,690 individual chickens and hundreds of flocks with no additional detections of HPAI.
The GDA implemented movement controls requiring a permit for any movement of birds or related products into, out of, or within the control area. Negative HPAI testing was one of several requirements to receive a permit. The GDA issued 50 movement permits, representing approximately 356 movements during this event.
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