Source:Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 1/18/16


More farms in Indiana have tested positive for the presence of highly pathogenic H7N8 avian influenza (HPAI), prompting a variety of responses worldwide.

Importers react
South Korea has reinstated its ban on U.S. poultry and poultry products that it lifted just two months ago, according to Reuters. The South Korean agriculture ministry announced over the weekend that fresh poultry meat from U.S. sources will not be allowed into the country, although it will allow imported poultry that has been treated with heat. South Korea originally suspended the imports in December of 2014 in the wake of last year’s HPAI infection on the west coast that eventually killed 51 million U.S. birds.

Separately, Japan announced that poultry slaughtered on or after Dec. 24, 2015 which originated from, was slaughtered/processed or passed through the state of Indiana is ineligible for export to Japan.

More farms
Meanwhile, another eight poultry farms in Indiana tested positive for some form of H7 bird flu over the weekend and analysts at the Daily Livestock Report (DLR) believe the total number of birds affected could top 100,000. The primary impact of the situation will be economic, the DLR said, as the affected farms will see “significant losses” but overall will impact “a very small portion of the turkey supply.”

Analysts added that presence of HPAI in U.S. poultry flocks could delay the reopening of some export markets to U.S. chicken products, noting the industry needs “all the help it can get to normalize export demand.”

Finally, animal health officials in Indiana are vowing to continue an “aggressive control strategy” to eliminate avian influenza wherever it is found in the state, according to the Dubois Country Free Press. USDA labs are moving forward with additional tests to determine the strain of H7 confirmed at the nine Indiana farms The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) stressed that the risk to humans in terms of this outbreak remains very low.

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