In addition to the isolation measures, birds were killed to prevent the highly-contagious virus from spreading, officials said.

The Wayne County case involves a backyard poultry flock, the press release said. That case was confirmed after an investigation by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Library.

For the first time, birds in a Wayne County backyard flock have been sickened by the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus, MDARD reported.

State officials said they've discovered the first case of the highly infectious H5N1 bird flu virus in a backyard flock in Wayne County. In a press release issued Thursday, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development did not specify how many birds were infected, what species was involved or in which community they were located.

The CDC reports that the spread of bird flu viruses from one infected person to a close contact is very rare, and when it has happened, it has only spread to a few people. When a human is affected, it is likely because of direct contact with a sick animal with H5N1,