Avian Flu Fact Sheet: DEQ's Role

Image of Turkeys

DEQ's Role

  • The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is the lead state agency if North Carolina is impacted by avian flu. As the state’s environmental regulatory agency, DEQ will provide guidance to farmers and others to minimize risks to public health and the environment.  
  • DEQ has a lengthy history of responding to statewide emergencies and is prepared to handle an outbreak of avian flu. 
  • DEQ staff have created an interagency task force and developed a guidance document to help DEQ and its partner agencies effectively stop the spread of avian flu while protecting public health and the environment. 
  • The task force is comprised of teams from DEQ’s executive leadership and staff members from the department’s regions in North Carolina. 
  • Its members have undergone training to assist the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and other state agencies should the state experience an outbreak of avian flu.
  • The role of the task force will be to advise other state agencies and ensure that DEQ works with its partner agencies to stop the spread of the virus in a way that best protects public health, the environment and the poultry industry. Task force members will use DEQ’s guidance document to help carry out its responsibilities during an outbreak of avian flu.  
  • DEQ staff will be primarily involved with the protection of groundwater and surface water resources during the processes of decontamination and disposal, and the transport or rendering of infected birds, waste, feed and other materials. 
  • Avian influenza is caused by an influenza type A virus which can infect poultry (such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese and guinea fowl) and is carried by free-flying waterfowl such as ducks, geese and shorebirds. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture HPAI Animal Disease

U.S. Department of Agriculture HPAI Emergency Response

N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Guidance