The USDA has confirmed the presence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial egg-laying farm in Nebraska that housed 1.7 million chickens. It is the first appearance of the virus in the state. According to Reuters, the case in Dixon County, Nebraska, brings the number of states affected by the outbreak to 16, and the U.S. tally of birds that have either died or will be killed to 32 million.

Authorities do not know how the H5N2 virus reached the Nebraska farm. The property has been quarantined and the flock will be culled, USDA said.

Source: Reuters via Yahoo! News