Source:  NCDA&CS, 8/25/15

More than 400 people attended the 11th annual Commissioner’s Food Safety Forum on Aug. 18 to learn about the potential impact that highly pathogenic avian influenza could have on the availability of certain foods in the United States.

Commissioner Troxler says it’s important for farmers and the public to understand the potential severity of the disease. The virus doesn’t just make birds sick, it kills them. And while there haven’t been any cases of HPAI in North Carolina, it has caused the loss of more than 48 million birds in 21 states. Farms in Minnesota and Iowa have been hit particularly hard by the disease, and the supply of poultry and egg products has been affected.

The NCDA&CS and other agencies are preparing for the possibility that HPAI will affect North Carolina when migratory waterfowl pass through the state in the fall. Commissioner Troxler says department personnel learned valuable lessons while assisting with HPAI response in the Midwest earlier this year, and they’re preparing to put those lessons to use in North Carolina if the disease strikes here.