156K Chickens Added To List Of Birds Being Euthanized

Since the initial highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) case announced on Friday, the other flocks have fallen into the category of LPAI-meaning minor symptoms and hardly any signs of infection. Tests confirmed eight out of the nine have a low-pathogenic strain of the virus, the USDA said in a statement on January 17. APHIS noted that low-pathogenic H7 viruses, though, have been known to mutate into highly pathogenic strains, which have the potential to spread quickly and cause many deaths in domestic poultry.

A work station can be seen set up at the entrance to a commercial turkey farm in Dubois, Ind. on Monday, Jan. 18, 2016. Research has shown that wild birds’ northern migration introduced the H5N2 virus, which began to accelerate from farm to farm in the spring.

Frigid temperatures are hampering efforts to euthanase turkeys at several southwestern IN farms where a strain of bird flu was found.

Indiana’s poultry industry ranks fourth nationally in turkey production, first in duck production and third in eggs, and is a significant producer of broiler chickens. Mittal says the strain of flu is not contagious to humans and people shouldn’t be too concerned.

Already, there are restrictions on exports from the infected area in IN and concerns that it will affect global trade. All affected barns will then undergo a thorough cleaning and disinfection before farmers can restock.

The United States has the strongest AI surveillance program in the world, and USDA is working with its partners to actively look for the disease in commercial poultry operations, live bird markets and in migratory wild bird populations. Officials also are looking at whether workers traveling between farms, wind or other methods may have spread the H7N8 strain.

At least 200,000 birds have been or are being euthanized.

Mittal says it’s important that farmers be proactive in testing their birds, as it could help stop the spread from farm to farm.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, after the flock of turkeys at a Farbest Farms facility in Dubois County experienced higher mortalities, samples from the flock were tested by Farbest Farms.

“I have been saying that bird flu would return, and it was a matter of “when” not “if”, said Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder in an MDA news release.

It isn’t clear whether the mild winter weather played a role in the current outbreak of the virus, state and federal officials said. “Heat-treated” products are excluded from the ban it added.

US officials have taken to heart lessons from last year’s outbreak, when USDA workers could not always kill infected flocks fast enough to contain the virus.

IN – the most easterly of all affected states, had just one case previous year, in a backyard flock of 30 birds.