The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed the presence of avian influenza in Hawaii on Monday, the first case of the virus in a domestic flock in the state since the current outbreak began in 2022, reported Reuters .

State officials said today that avian influenza was detected in a backyard flock of various birds in Central Oahu, the first confirmed detection of the virus in Hawaii.

With migratory waterfowl back for the cold seasons, Oregon is the first state to report new spike in avian flu detections during fall migration.

Avian flu typically spreads between wild and domestic birds but can spread to other animals and people. There have now been more than 40 confirmed human cases in the United States, according to the Centre for Disease Control,

The state euthanized more than 70 of an Oahu woman’s rescued birds after linking Hawaii's first cases of avian flu to birds at her sanctuary.

"In the middle of all this, I reached out to a vet and we were working together and decided to inform the state and federal vets to get more answers because it was very fast, very furious."

Ducks and geese on a backyard farm in Oahu, the state's main island, tested positive for H5N1 last week, which was likely brought to the island by migratory birds.

Susan Wilkinson in Wahiawa loses her flock of ducks at her sanctuary when they got infected with avian flu, leaving her to euthanize them.