Georgia Department of Agriculture Releases HPAI Control Area in Gordon County

Mon, Nov 17 2025

GORDON COUNTY, GA - Today, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J Harper announced that the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) 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.

"I'm pleased to announce the release of the HPAI control area for Gordon 01 and the successful completion of all required surveillance testing with no additional HPAI detections," said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler J Harper. "While this announcement is a great step in the right direction, HPAI remains a significant threat to our #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."

HPAI Detection at Gordon o1:
The Georgia Department of Agriculture received notification of a "non-negative" HPAI test result from the Georgia Poultry Lab Network (GPLN) on the evening of Thursday, October 23rd, 2025, which was further confirmed by USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratory on Friday, October 24th, 2025.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture immediately activated its Emergency Operations Center and staff began deploying to the Gordon County area on Friday, October 24th. Depopulation, disposal, and cleaning & disinfecting operations at Gordon 01 began on Friday, October 24th, 2025. Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement officers maintained a biosecurity perimeter around the affected premises to prevent unauthorized access and limit further spread of the disease.

Control Area Testing & Surveillance:
In response to these detections, the Georgia Department of Agriculture 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.

Movement Permitting:
The Georgia Department of Agriculture implemented movement controls requiring a permit for any movement of birds or related products in to, out of, or within the control area. Negative HPAI testing was one of several requirements to receive a permit. The Department issued 50 movement permits, representing approximately 356 movements during this event.

• Category

• Avian Influenza

Media contacts

• Matthew Agvent,Communications Director
• Liz Rivera-Brown,Deputy Communications Director

About the GDA
The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) is the voice of the state's agriculture community. The department's mission is to provide excellence in services and regulatory functions, to protect and promote agriculture and consumer interests, and to ensure an abundance of safe food and fiber for Georgia, America, and the world by using state-of-the-art technology and a professional workforce.

Find us on Facebook • Follow on Twitter: @GDAFoodSafety •@GeorgiaGrown

For more information, visit https://www.agr.georgia.gov.

Georgia Department of Agriculture
Tyler J Harper, Commissioner
19 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SW
Atlanta, GA 30334