Federal agency: Bird flu detected in backyard Michigan flock

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Federal authorities say a strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in Michigan in a non-commercial backyard flock of birds in Kalamazoo County. The Michigan cases were confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through laboratory testing. The USDA said Thursday that Michigan officials have quarantined the Kalamazoo County site and 34 birds at that property “will be depopulated to prevent the spread of disease.” The bird flu cases are among the latest in the U.S. that have put farms that raise turkeys and chickens for meat and eggs on high alert, fearing a repeat of a 2015 bird flu outbreak that killed 50 million birds across 15 states.