LANSING, MI — Bird flu has been confirmed in a backyard poultry flock in Michigan’s Branch County.

The state Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said Saturday that the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory detected the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a non-commercial flock. The agency says the infected flock contained about 20 birds of various species.

The premises are under quarantine and the birds will be destroyed to limit the spread of the disease.

State officials earlier reported cases of bird flu this year in Kalamazoo, Macomb, Livingston, Menominee, Saginaw and Washtenaw counties.