Over 60000 turkeys impacted by Avian Influenza in Dubois

The Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Purdue University tested samples from flock, and the USDA confirmed the turkeys were infected with bird flu.

Steven Sander, a neighboring turkey farmer, says bird flu is brought to the region by Canada Geese, and spread by humans.

A worker wearing a contamination suit was carted up to a Dubois County farm today, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, that was confirmed to be the location of the first case of bird flu in the United States in June.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said federal officials are working with state officials to clean up the situation, “We have dispatched teams to the area and will do our best to limit the infestation”.

Last year’s outbreak resulted in the culling of about 49 million birds in 21 states, including about 10 percent of the nation’s egg-laying hens. The H7N8 virus has not yet been found in wild birds, suggesting that the virus could have developed in wild birds that spent the winter in southern Indiana, USDA spokeswoman Andrea McNally said, adding that it’s too early to speculate about the origin and its association with migratory birds. Extra surveillance is under way at other farms near the outbreak location, which is in Dubois County.

IN ranks fourth nationally in turkey production.

Avian influenza is typically spread by free-flying waterfowl like ducks, geese and shorebirds.

Food safety is not considered to be at risk, according to the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, saying “the Centers for Disease Control considers the risk of illness to humans to be very low”. The state’s poultry industry employs more than 14,600 people and pumps $2.3 billion into the state’s economy, according to statistics compiled by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. This is a new flu strain and different from the strain that caused the outbreaks a year ago.