LPAI H5N2 in W. Virginia

[hawkeye]

Re: LPAI H5N2 in W. Virginia

thnx Pam

[Treyfish]

Re: LPAI H5N2 in W. Virginia

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=533 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=mainnewstitle id=withoutphoto vAlign=center colSpan=3>Russia bans poultry imports from West Virginia - watchdog


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MOSCOW, April 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's food safety watchdog said Thursday it has imposed a temporary ban on imports of poultry products from the U.S. state of West Virginia, starting April 6.
According to the U.S. Agriculture Department, turkeys at a farm in Pendleton County in West Virginia tested positive April 3 for the bird-flu virus. Preliminary tests indicated the turkeys had a low-pathogenic H5N2 strain of the virus.
"Due to an outbreak of bird flu virus containing H5N2 strains registered in the U.S. state of West Virginia, Rosselkhoznadzor is introducing temporary restrictions on imports of poultry products, feed-stuff and feed supplements from this state," said Alexei Alekseyenko, a spokesman for the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection.
The official said that restrictions will apply for poultry produced after March 31.
The high-pathogenic version of the avian influenza, H5N1, poses a threat to humans.
Since 2003, when bird flu first hit Asian countries, 281 people around the world have contracted the disease and 169 of them have died, according to the latest data released by the World Health Organization. Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, sparking a pandemic across the world. Rosselkhoznadzor has requested that U.S. food safety authorities provide Russia with detailed information on the bird flu outbreak in the country. http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070405/63158745.html

[HenryN]

Re: LPAI H5N2 in W. Virginia

I am no expert but this USDA program to reimburse farmers for losses due to depopulation extends to all H5 and H7 types because of their tendency to mutate into more serious forms.

Yes, new regulations require mandatory reporrting of all H5 and H7 infections in poultry (unless the dog eats the homework, e.g. Prince Edward Island)

[hawkeye]

Re: LPAI H5N2 in W. Virginia

Sounds like the U.S. needs one of those homework eating dogs.

[pamwv41]

Re: LPAI H5N2 in W. Virginia

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070405/63158745.html

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="533"><tbody><tr><td class="mainnewstitle" colspan="3" id="withoutphoto" valign="middle">Russia bans poultry imports from West Virginia - watchdog


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</td> <td height="10" valign="bottom"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td class="maintime">15:46</td> <td class="maindatedelim" width="1">|</td> <td class="maindate">05/ 04/ 2007</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td align="right">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> MOSCOW, April 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's food safety watchdog said Thursday it has imposed a temporary ban on imports of poultry products from the U.S. state of West Virginia, starting April 6.
According to the U.S. Agriculture Department, turkeys at a farm in Pendleton County in West Virginia tested positive April 3 for the bird-flu virus. Preliminary tests indicated the turkeys had a low-pathogenic H5N2 strain of the virus.
"Due to an outbreak of bird flu virus containing H5N2 strains registered in the U.S. state of West Virginia, Rosselkhoznadzor is introducing temporary restrictions on imports of poultry products, feed-stuff and feed supplements from this state," said Alexei Alekseyenko, a spokesman for the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection.
The official said that restrictions will apply for poultry produced after March 31.
The high-pathogenic version of the avian influenza, H5N1, poses a threat to humans.
Since 2003, when bird flu first hit Asian countries, 281 people around the world have contracted the disease and 169 of them have died, according to the latest data released by the World Health Organization. Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people, sparking a pandemic across the world.
Rosselkhoznadzor has requested that U.S. food safety authorities provide Russia with detailed information on the bird flu outbreak in the country.

[pamwv41]

Re: LPAI H5N2 in W. Virginia

http://www.rocktownweekly.com/news_details.php?AID=9595&CHID=1

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table border="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="80%">No More Avian Flu Detected</td> <td align="right" valign="top" width="20%">Posted 2007-04-04</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Farms Around Destroyed W.Va. Flock Being Tested

</td> </tr> <tr> <td>By Jeff Mellott

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HARRISONBURG ? The latest testing for avian flu on Tuesday found no new cases within a six-mile radius of a Brandywine, W.Va., turkey farm where a mild form of the virus was recently detected, according to a spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
Department spokesman Buddy Davidson is uncertain, he says, when testing for the 10 commercial poultry operations within six miles of the infected flock will be complete.
Meanwhile, Virginia Poultry Federation President Hobey Bauhan urged growers to continue heightened biosecurity efforts in the state.
"We are just asking people to take this very seriously," he said.
Similar Disease
The infection at Brandywine was discovered in the Harrisonburg lab of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services during a routine preslaughter test.
The test is part of a federal program to ensure flocks are disease-free.
The National Veterinary Service Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, confirmed the infection.
As a result, the Brandywine flock of 25,000 turkeys was destroyed Sunday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Mild Strain
The strain of avian flu that infected birds at Brandywine is similar in strength to the one that led to the destruction of 4.7 million birds in Virginia and West Virginia five years ago.
At the time, the Virginia Poultry Federation estimated the outbreak cost the industry about $130 million.
But the strains are not identical. The strain detected at Brandywine is H5N2. The strain in 2002 was H7N2.
Both are low-pathogen strains that are not harmful to humans and rarely cause death in fowl, said Karen Eggert, spokeswoman for the USDA?s Animal Health Inspection Service.
Eggert said the precautionary destruction of the flock is necessary to keep the strain from mutating into a high-pathogen strain.
Davidson, who declined to identify the owner of the farm, said preparations are under way to compost the birds on the farm.
Meanwhile, the USDA is investigating the source of the virus, he said.
"We may find an answer [or] we may never know how this got started," Davidson said.
Dual Inspections
Inspectors have found themselves with added duties.
Davidson, who has moved his office from Charleston, W.Va., to Moorefield, said inspectors are working on a "snapshot" of the area around the infected farm.
Under the heightened procedures initiated after the outbreak in 2002, inspectors began checking birds, between the ages of 10 weeks and 12 weeks, 72 hours before slaughter, Davidson said.
Inspectors are checking birds of all ages within six miles of the infected farm, but not all birds are being tested, he said.
Inspectors have other work to do, he said.
"We?ve not dropped our regular sampling," he said, "so birds outside the area can continue to move [to market]. We have to do both groups at the same time."
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[Treyfish]

Re: LPAI H5N2 in W. Virginia

Thanks for the updates Pam .He says all birds have not been tested.I don't think they are done with this yet.They still have 30 days to wait and see right?

[Treyfish]

Re: LPAI H5N2 in W. Virginia

4 countries restrict W.Va. poultry imports due to avian flu discovery
April 05, 2007 5:33 PM

CHARLESTON, W.Va.
Four countries have temporarily restricted imports of West Virginia poultry following the discovery of avian flu at a Pendleton County turkey farm.

Matt Herrick with the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service says Cuba, Japan, Russia and Taiwan won't accept any poultry or poultry products from West Virginia.

Herrick also says Hong Kong won't accept any poultry or poultry products from Pendleton County.

Herrick says each country has its own process for resuming poultry imports once avian flu is detected. For instance, Cuba allows such imports to resume 21 days after the disease is detected, providing the poultry farm is sterilized to its standards.

State agriculture officials say the strain of the disease found in Pendleton County turkeys is not harmful to humans. But 25-thousand turkeys at the farm were destroyed this week as a precaution to prevent the virus from mutating and spreading.

http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/wv/news2.shtml

[pamwv41]

Re: LPAI H5N2 in W. Virginia

"Matt Herrick with the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service says Cuba, Japan, Russia and Taiwan won't accept any poultry or poultry products from West Virginia."

Strange, that they don't restrict Virginia as well. Much of the poultry from Pendleton County is processed in the Virginia processing plant. Also H5N2 does not obey borders. The county that borders Pendleton is in Virginia and has as many if not more turkey farms as WV. Well, at least it is only for thirty days. But our area certainly will feel an economic impact.

[pamwv41]

No New Cases in WV

<table border="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"> News - Local</td> <td align="right" valign="top">

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</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table border="0" height="150" width="503"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" width="80%">Inspections Near Avian Flu Infected West Virginia Farm Show No New Cases</td> <td align="right" valign="top" width="20%">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Virginia Growers Urged Not to Relax Bio-Security Vigilance

</td> </tr> <tr> <td>By Jeff Mellott

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HARRISONBURG ? An inspection of commercial flocks within six miles of a farm in southern Pendleton County, W.Va., infected with a low-pathogen strain of avian flu has turned up no new cases, according to the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
Department inspectors will step up inspections in the five-county area that already has restrictions regarding the use and movement of poultry litter, said department spokesman Buddy Davidson.
The news was encouraging for growers in the Shenandoah Valley, said Virginia Poultry Federation President Hobey Bauhan. However, Bauhan said growers in the Valley should not relax their biosecurity vigilance.
Decontamination Completed
West Virginia?s Agriculture Department also completed decontamination of the Brandywine, W.Va., farm on Friday, Davidson reported.
The avian flu strain was detected at the Virginia Department of Agriculture lab in Harrisonburg last week.
The decontamination, which involved spraying disinfectant, included a stretch of County Road 21 that passes through the infected farm.
The department is disposing of the 25,000 birds destroyed as a result of the outbreak in compost piles at the farm, Davidson said.
While the low-pathogen strain is harmless to humans and rarely causes deaths in birds, state agriculture officials said they destroyed the flock to prevent the strain from mutating into a higher pathogen.
Inspection Area Widened
With the work at the farm and surrounding area completed, West Virginia agriculture officials started inspecting commercial flocks in a five-county area that includes Pendleton County. The other counties are Hardy, Grant, Mineral and Hampshire.
The stepped-up inspections of about 900 poultry houses on about 350 farms are in addition to the regular preslaughter tests. Those tests detected the outbreak of the avian flu strain at the Pendleton County farm last week, Davidson said.
Davidson estimated that the stepped-up inspections could take a month to complete.
If no avian flu is found, he said, the department will return to its inspection procedure before the latest outbreak.
Litter Restrictions
In a prepared statement, West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass reminded poultry farmers of restrictions on the movement of poultry litter.
Poultry farmers in the five-county area cannot complete full cleanouts of poultry houses while the restrictions are in place.
Restrictions on moving litter off poultry farms and applying it to land in the five-county area also remain in place, Davidson said.
They can use "crust-outs," which is the top layer of litter, leaving most of the bedding in the house, Davidson said.
Farms within a six-mile containment zone of the affected farm are prohibited from any litter-related activities, including crust-outs. The department has individually notified the owners of those farms.
In addition, farmers must cover litter piles that had been moved to fields but not spread before the land-application ban went into effect.
A covering with an impermeable membrane, such as plastic tarp, protects the nutrients in the litter while preventing contaminated runoff, said a statement from the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
Reason For Concern
The detection of the outbreak caused concern not only in West Virginia, but also in the Shenandoah Valley.
According to the Virginia Poultry Federation, the industry has more than 550 farms in Rockingham County.
The outbreak of a similar strain of avian flu in 2002 resulted in the destruction of 4.7 million birds in Virginia and West Virginia. The poultry federation estimated that the outbreak cost the industry about $130 million.
"It?s very good news that they have not found anything," Bauhan said.
Bauhan hopes the inspection of the five-county area will show the same results.
"Time will tell," he said.

Contact Jeff Mellott at 574-6290 or jmellott@dnronline.com
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