The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Animal Health encourages poultry owners, with both commercial and backyard flocks, to take steps to protect their flocks from avian influenza by monitoring their birds for symptoms and by implementing biosecurity practices. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a highly contagious viral disease that can infect chickens, turkeys, and other birds and can cause severe illness and/or sudden death. HPAI has been identified in backyard flocks as well as commercial operations in neighboring states; it has not been detected in Kansas.