Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 5/11/15


The pace of bird flu confirmations has rapidly grown in recent weeks due to the infection of several large flocks – especially since the first confirmed case of the latest outbreak was reported in December 2014 at a backyard operation in Douglas County, Ore., according to a report by the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Professors John Newton and Todd Kuethe are reporting that the current outbreak is the worst case ever experienced in the United States. It exceeds the previous 1983 record by nearly 9 million birds (and counting).

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed Monday the presence of HPAI in a backyard mixed-poultry flock in Whitley County, Ind. Although there have been multiple detections of HPAI H5N2 in the Mississippi flyway, this is the first finding of HPAI H5N8 in the Mississippi flyway, which previously had only been confirmed in the Pacific flyway. Samples from the flock, which experienced increased mortality, were tested at the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, confirmed the findings.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship reported Friday that it is responding to seven probable cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry farms in Osceola and Cherokee counties -- five turkey farms and two commercial laying operations. These seven new cases would join 37 cases of the disease in Iowa that were previously announced. State officials have quarantined the premises.

Iowa has been the hardest hit among U.S. states, with more than 23.1 million birds affected since the first detection was reported April 20. It is one of three states (in addition to Minnesota and Wisconsin) in which a state of emergency has been issued.

The current outbreak is one of only four recorded outbreaks of the avian influenza in the United States (the other outbreaks occurred in 1924, 1983 and 2004). The 1924 and 2004 outbreaks were quickly contained and eradicated; the 1983 outbreak was more significant and resulted in the depopulation of 17 million chickens, turkeys and guinea fowl in northeastern portions of the country.

Canadian gov’t provides assistance
Meanwhile, the Canadian government has announced funding for two initiatives worth up to $1.58 million to help British Columbia poultry producers re-establish their operations and mitigate the impact of future risks following an outbreak of notifiable avian influenza last winter. The funding is part of AgriRecovery and AgriRisk, initiatives that are part of the suite of federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) business risk management tools.

“These initiatives will help BC poultry producers deal with added costs of resuming business operations, while helping the poultry sector develop insurance options against future outbreaks,” Mark Warawa, member of parliament, said in a news release.

In 2013, BC poultry and egg farm cash receipts totaled $547 million – 14.5 percent of Canada's total poultry and egg farm cash receipts.

Surveillance continues
More than 29.9 millions birds have been affected in 15 states, according to the latest USDA statistics (as of May 4). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that no human cases have been detected, and the risk to people from these bird flu infections remains low.

The United States has the strongest Avian Influenza (AI) surveillance program in the world. As part of the existing USDA avian influenza response plans, federal and state partners as well as industry are responding quickly and decisively to these outbreaks by following these five basic steps: 1) quarantine – restricting movement of poultry and poultry-moving equipment into and out of the control area; 2) eradication – humanely euthanizing the affected flock(s); 3) monitoring the region – testing wild and domestic birds in a broad area around the quarantine area; 4)  disinfection – kills the virus in the affected flock locations; and 5) testing – confirm that poultry farms in the area are free of the virus.

These virus strains travel in wild birds without those birds appearing sick. People should avoid contact with sick/dead poultry or wildlife. All bird owners, whether commercial producers or backyard flock owners, should continue to practice good biosecurity, prevent contact between their birds and wild birds, and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to state/federal officials, either through their state veterinarian or through USDA’s toll-free number at (866) 536-7593.

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