By India Edwards HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, Jan. 29, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- A new strain of bird flu, H5N9, has been detected for the first time in the United States, raising concerns about how it continues to spread.

The United States has confirmed its first case of highly pathogenic H5N9 avian influenza in poultry, following an outbreak at a duck meat farm in Merced County, California, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) stated Monday.

A new strain of H5N9 bird flu was detected at a commercial duck operation in California's Merced County. All the ducks were euthanized.

Both H5N9 and H5N1 were detected at the duck farm in Merced County, according to tests conducted by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory. The event began on November 23, with clinical signs that included increased deaths in the ducks.

First reported on NBC National. The United States has reported its first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu in poultry on a duck farm in California, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Monday.

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H5N9 is a rare subtype of the influenza A virus that can cause highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as bird flu. It's a reassortment strain that originated from the H5N1, H7N9, and H9N2 subtypes.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today confirmed more H5N1 avian flu detections in poultry from four states, including several in hard-hit Ohio.

The H5N9 strain of avian influenza is much more rare than the H5N1 which has been responsible for most of the reported human cases and the first human death.

The first confirmed case of H5N9 bird flu in the United States has been identified in Merced County, California, and control measures are being undertaken to contain the virus.

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The United States has reported its first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu in poultry on a duck farm in California, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Monday. U.S. authorities also detected the more common H5N1 strain on the same farm in Merced County,