Fresno Bee An outbreak of the avian flu on California’s poultry ranches continues to climb with more than 1.5 million chickens and turkeys being depopulated as part of the state’s eradication effort. The latest county to get hit is Sacramento County, where 48,300 commercial turkeys were killed after the highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed by state and federal officials on Nov. 2.
Also losing thousands of poultry were ranches in Kings and Fresno counties, where 117,200 and 204, 600 chickens were killed, respectively. The outbreaks in Kings and Fresno were confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Oct. 30. Kings County has lost a total of 527,000 poultry this year due to the avian flu.