Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 10/13/16

The avian influenza virus may be quickly inactivated by heat, a USDA researcher has shown.

Erica Spackman, of USDA ARS, recently completed research that provides various time and temperature profiles to effectively inactivate the avian influenza virus in chicken litter. For example, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was inactivated after just one day at a temperature of 90°F (USDA recommends two days to ensure inactivation, though).

Outbreaks require a great deal of time and resources to inactivate avian influenza in contaminated facilities using both cleaning and disinfection. Spackman showed that the virus is quickly inactivated by heat, and she established the parameters required to achieve inactivation of the virus — information that can be used in future outbreaks to more quickly eliminate the virus from inside contaminated facilities.

USPOULTRY approved $550,000 in emergency funding in October 2015 to support further avian influenza research and communication as a result of the HPAI outbreak last spring. Those projects are to be completed on a fast track over the next several months, and this research is the second project completed with the funding.

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