Outbreak Numbers Holding Steady In Avian Flu-Ridden Dubois County

The State Board of Animal Health says they are hopeful that at least eight of the 10 farms have a less deadly form of the virus.

Crews began euthanizing more than 245,000 turkeys in Indiana’s Dubois County last week to prevent the virus’ spread.

State and federal workers have been using carbon dioxide gas instead of the foam, or a device that delivers a blow to the head, but that is slow and inefficient, she said.

Audio clip: Listen to audio clip.

That means that as farmers try to stamp out the virus before it becomes more virulent or infects more of their flock, additional birds may be culled as the year goes on. The strain is different from last year’s outbreak, the agency reported in a statement on January 15.

Killing the birds is the best way to stop the outbreak, since there’s no vaccine against the H7N8 virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the risk of illness to humans from bird flu to be very low. All affected barns will then undergo a thorough cleaning and disinfection before farmers can restock.

Authorities say that the turkeys in IN were infected after a “less dangerous” form of the flu mutated, according to Medical Daily. But there is no business interruption insurance that covers a farm’s lost income from animal disease and little other economic help beyond the government’s bird replacement payment.

The US Department of Agriculture’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service inspected the case and found that the strain has affected a flock of 60,000 birds.

The most immediately noticeable impact has been on export markets. Previous year’s outbreak, which officially ended in June, cost the poultry industry more than $3.3 billion. “Heat-treated” products are excluded from the ban it added.

“We’re trying to be really aggressive on testing in that extended area to make sure there’s no virus still floating around out there that’s going to pop up later”. In the meantime, what do we need to know?