U.S. bird flu incident puts chicken and turkey farms on alert

Des Moines, Iowa-Farms raising turkeys and chickens for meat and eggs are vigilant and are taking steps to enhance biosecurity. The government is almost $ 1 billion.

A new horror is caused by a discovery announced on February 9 of a virus that infects Indiana’s commercial turkey herds. 29,000 turkeys in the flock were killed to prevent the spread of the virus.

Indiana officials said Tuesday that a second flock of 26,473 turkeys near the first infected farm was suspected of carrying the same virus. Testing for confirmation is in progress. The second location is already within the quarantine zone established for the first farm.

USDA has also confirmed the presence of bird flu in a flock of commercial broiler chickens in Fulton County, Kentucky, in a second case that could occur approximately 124 miles northeast of Webster County, Kentucky. Waiting for the result. A herd of mixed bird backyards in northern Virginia is also positive for the virus. State authorities will quarantine the area and birds in new, clearly identified locations will be killed and removed.

Poultry industry and government officials say there are plans to stop the spread learned from 2015 more quickly, but cautioned that viral strains can be fatal to commercial poultry. .. If a sufficient number of farm birds are infected, the prices of eggs, turkey and chicken may increase and their availability may decrease.

Dr. Dennis Hard, Veterinary Veterinary and Vice President of Research, American Poultry and Egg Association, said: “We are confident that we can tackle this situation better, and I’m crossing my fingers when this becomes an isolated case, but I want the best and want to be prepared for the worst. increase.”

Health officials say no human cases of the avian influenza virus have been detected in the United States, and the disease does not immediately indicate public health concerns. The virus can spread from infected birds to humans, but such infections are rare and do not cause a persistent outbreak among humans.

With the 2015 outbreak, producers killed 33 million spawning chickens in Iowa, one of the country’s leading spawners, and 9 million birds in Minnesota, one of the leading turkey producers in the United States, Nebraska, South Dakota, Showed a small outbreak in Wisconsin. The disease has caused nationwide egg and turkey prices to skyrocket for several months, egg prices to rise 61% at one point, and boneless and skinless turkey breast prices from May to July 2015. It rose 75% in the meantime.

The outbreak is considered the most expensive animal health hazard in U.S. history, with approximately $ 1 billion to the government for the removal and disposal of infected birds and the payment of government compensation to producers of lost birds. It cost me.

The strain currently circulating is H5N1 type, which is associated with the 2015 virus. It has been circulating in Europe and Asia for months and was discovered in Canadian wild birds a few weeks ago and in a commercial herd in Canada a week before a US case was identified.

Migrating wild birds often carry strains of avian influenza and are often less pathogenic, meaning they do not kill birds. From time to time, these strains can enter a herd of livestock and mutate into a more deadly virus. Dr. Yuko Sato, a veterinarian and assistant professor at Iowa State University’s School of Veterinary Diagnosis and Production Veterinary Medicine, said that the H5N1 virus, which is currently prevalent in wild birds, is already highly pathogenic and fatal from the beginning.

US surveillance activities have identified wild bird viruses in New Hampshire, Delaware, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, and South Carolina over the past few weeks, revealing their widespread environmental presence.

The virus can easily spread from wild bird droppings and be carried to commercial flock at the feet and equipment of workers. As a result, high-level biosecurity protocols are enabled nationwide in commercial activities. They have enacted new safeguards to prevent the deadly bird flu infection, often called HPAI, and to isolate them when they occur.

“With the increased preparatory efforts made by USDA and its partners since the outbreak of HPAI in 2015, we are ready to handle this detection,” said Lyndsay Cole, spokeswoman for USDA’s flora and fauna quarantine service. I am saying.Outbreak in the United States

Federal and state authorities are working with the poultry industry to move birds into and out of designated boundaries (usually initially about 6 miles (10 km)) around infected barns. We have started measures such as immediate quarantine to limit the movement of equipment. — And eradication of the virus by killing and removing birds at the site of infection. Tests are conducted in both wild bird and poultry quarantine areas. Disinfection is done on the affected farms to kill the virus and tests are used to confirm that it is free of the virus.

Producers who want to be eligible for government compensation payments in the event of a disaster should have a biosecurity protocol that is updated regularly. To help with that, USDA has created a 14-point biosecurity plan for producers. It is audited annually and reviewed every two years by the state agricultural agency.

In Iowa, a state with 49 million chickens, egg farmers are working with state and federal authorities to keep the disease away from the herd, Kevin Kevin, Managing Director of the Iowa Poultry Association and the Iowa Egg Council. Styles said.

“IPA maintains open communication, especially related to biosecurity best practices, and provides monitoring tests. We are confident in our ability to prepare and manage herds of producers.” He said.