Avian flu detected at county farm
Posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2008
At least one sample from a breeder hen flock near West Fork has tested positive for the live virus of low pathogenic avian influenza, according to a memo released Tuesday by the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission in Little Rock.
U. S. Department of Agriculture officials notified the commission about the sample this week.
Preliminary tests on the flock last week indicated the presence of antibodies for H 7 N 3, which is a mild type of avian influenza, commonly referred to as “ bird flu, ” that officials say is not a danger to humans.
Upon the discovery, the 15, 000 chickens owned by Tyson Foods Inc. were killed with carbon dioxide on June 3, and their carcasses have been buried on the farm.
“ The discovery of this mild form of avian influenza poses no food safety or human health risk, ” according to a statement released by Gary Mickelson, a Tyson Foods spokesman.
He said the birds showed no signs of illness and did not enter the human food chain, but they were “ depopulated” as a precautionary measure.
He noted that additional testing of more than 50 area farms was initiated last week, and increased biosecurity, placing additional limits on access to poultry farms, has been implemented.
Mickelson said follow-up testing of other Tyson flocks in the area has not detected avian influenza.
Tyson has tested flocks on all breeder farms that serve the local Tyson poultry complex, as well as any farms within a 10-mile radius of the affected farm, he said.
This additional surveillance testing will continue for a few weeks, he said.
The infected flock had been tested on May 30 because it was “ spent” and the hens were ready to go to slaughter on June 1, said John Fitch, executive director of the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission.
“ All poultr y is tested before it ever leaves the farm and goes to slaughter, ” Fitch said.
Samples from the May 30 tests were driven to a USDA testing site in Ames, Iowa, as well as the Livestock and Poultry Commission’s lab in Little Rock.
The memo released Tuesday states that USDA Veterinary Services notified the commission that a tissue sample from the flock was positive for avian influenza.
The H 7 N 3 strain differs from the high-pathogenic H 5 N 1 strain, which has broken out in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The finding of the live virus does not change the operational plans set forth by regulatory agencies, Fitch said.
All procedures and plans initiated according to the Livestock and Poultry Commission’s avian influenza response plan — upon initial blood testing results — will continue, he said.
To date, all samples submitted within the required radius of about six miles around the farm have been negative for avian Influenza.
Testing of all flocks will continue within the radius. There will be two tests 10 days apart, Fitch said, so the testing should be completed within the next three weeks.
Cleaning and disinfection of the affected farm premises are in the final stages of completion, he said, and the farm will be inspected by regulatory authorities.
The commission has issued a poultry quarantine in the six-mile radius of the affected farm and is asking for any poultry flock owners within the zone to call (501 ) 907-2400 or the local county extension agent to expedite the process.
The formal notification of the quarantine was not done until Monday, Fitch said.
“ When we got the notification of the positive virus, we initiated that, ” he said.
It is still unclear how the breeding hens contracted the virus.
Fitch said the speculation is that there was a large group of Canada geese congregating near the farm when it is believed the chickens contracted it.
He stressed that this is only speculation.
Federal fish and wildlife officials collected specimens from nine wild geese from the premises and shipped them to the lab in Ames on Monday, he said.
“ They were probably in that pond beside those chicken houses, ” Fitch said.
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