Do outdoor environmental areas need to be decontaminated using disinfectants?
Based on currently available information about avian influenza viruses, recommendations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state government, and university experts, and past practices that successfully eliminated outbreaks of avian influenza in the United States, EPA does not anticipate a need to apply disinfectants to outdoor environmental areas (e.g. fields, vegetation, ponds and lakes) for the purpose of inactivating avian influenza viruses. Agricultural officials, including experienced veterinarians and other livestock specialists, have developed response plans for a potential outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus. These plans call for quarantining affected areas, euthanizing poultry, disposing of carcasses, cleaning and disinfecting poultry houses, federally-inspected meat and poultry processing plants and associated facilities, equipment, and vehicles, in accordance with use directions on disinfectant product labels, and taking other specified actions t
