Tests performed recently on guinea fowl in Jackson County came back positive for avian influenza, agriculture officials announced Thursday.

Samples were collected from fowl at the TaCo-Bet Trade Day flea market in Scottsboro. The premises of origin for the guinea fowl, also in Jackson County, is under quarantine and continued surveillance, officials said. The guinea fowl have also been depopulated.

Testing is still ongoing of samples submitted to the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, from the other two premises in North Alabama — a commercial breeder flock in Lauderdale County and the backyard flock in Madison County.

Out of an abundance of caution, the company decided to depopulate the entire flock at the commercial breeder operation in Lauderdale County and the birds were properly buried on the farm. The depopulation was not required but a decision made by the poultry company.

The entire backyard flock in Madison County was also depopulated at the owners request.

According to USDA, both cases are considered presumptive low pathogenic avian influenza because neither flock showed signs of illness.

Also Thursday, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture confirmed a second case of highly pathogenic H7N9 avian influenza in a commercial breeder flock in Lincoln County, Tennessee. The H7N9 strain is of North American wild bird lineage and is the same strain of avian influenza that was previously confirmed in Tennessee.

“Our department staff is diligently working to protect the health of poultry in our state,” said John McMillan, Alabama’s commissioner of Agriculture and Industries. “We are committed to protect the livelihoods of the many farmers in Alabama.”

The ADAI Poultry Division is available to answer any questions concerning movement of poultry and should be notified at 334-240-6584 and/or USDA at 1-866-536-7593 if birds show unusual signs of disease (flu-like symptoms) or flocks experience unexplained mortalities.

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System has created a website to assist backyard flock owners with maintaining healthy birds and to provide answers for avian influenza control. It can be found at www.AlabamaAvianInfluenza.com.