Avian flu outbreak hits Indiana

Frigid temperatures are hampering efforts to euthanize turkeys at several southwestern IN farms where a strain of bird flu was found last week, freezing the hoses used to spread a foam that suffocates the affected flocks, a spokeswoman for a state agency said Monday. Deaths at the Dubois County turkey producer prompted testing, and results were confirmed and announced on Jan 15.

“The water’s been freezing up”.

“We may know more once the remaining work on virus sequencing is completed, likely sometime next week”, she said. This is not a situation that deserves chaos at this point, we’re handling it. The USDA has been prepared past year with the cases we’ve had to fight.

About 10 farms in IN have been affected with the bird flu. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the rapid response developed after last year’s outbreaks seems to have worked, but noted a team is in place to rapidly euthanize flocks and contain any spread. Birds with low pathogenic strains often show no signs of infection or have only minor symptoms.

The state veterinarian says the discovery of the low-pathogenic strain of the virus at nine more farms over the weekend is “good news”.

A day later, however, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said eight of those nine additional H7 detections were low-pathogenic H7N8 and that tests were ongoing on the ninth flock.

Indiana’s poultry industry brings in $2.5 billion a year, Derrer said, adding that the state leads the country in duck production, is No. 3 in egg production and fourth in turkeys.

As with other avian flu viruses, the CDC recommends antiviral medication for symptomatic people.

A brand-new strain of avian flu, this one called H7N8, has been found on a turkey farm in Indiana.

There’s also no indication why H7N8 surfaced during winter months, but officials have said bird flu – any strain of it – could resurface anytime.

Avian influenza (AI) has returned to the U.S., with the authorities reporting its first highly pathogenic case since last June in a turkey flock in Indiana.

This particular strain is more common in wild birds. Where it is detected at local ports of entry it will be treated with heat before being released onto the market.