Arkansas - USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in Commercial Turkey Flock

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Suspected bird flu case found in Arkansas poultry, USDA says

CHICAGO, March 10 Tue Mar 10, 2015 6:41pm EDT

(Reuters) - A suspected case of avian influenza has been identified in poultry in Arkansas, the third-largest U.S. turkey producer and home to Tyson Foods Inc , the nation's biggest chicken company, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0WC2XF20150310

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UPDATE 1-Suspected bird flu in Arkansas poultry threatens exports

Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:29pm EDT
(Updates with details on discovery, comments)
By Tom Polansek and P.J. Huffstutter

(Reuters) -...

"There is a suspect case in Arkansas, but testing is ongoing," USDA spokeswoman Lyndsay Cole said.

Arkansas producers have been on alert for the virus since Minnesota and Missouri confirmed cases of highly pathogenic H5N2 bird flu during the past week. The Minnesota case was the first in the Mississippi flyway, a migratory route along the Mississippi River that also includes Missouri and Arkansas.
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"It's in the wild bird flyway coming from Canada," Texas state veterinarian Dee Ellis said of the virus.

"That's obviously how it went from Minnesota to Missouri to Arkansas."

Ellis could not confirm the Arkansas case and Tyson was not immediately available to comment.
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The suspected case in Arkansas was found in a turkey flock, said Mike Cockrell, chief financial officer for Sanderson Farms Inc, the nation's third-largest poultry producer. He cited information from the Texas Poultry Federation.

To prevent bird flu from spreading to its facilities, Sanderson is starting to bar outsiders from entering barns and to require increased cleaning of trucks hauling feed and chickens between farms, Cockrell said. In the past, employees have changed their clothes on airplanes after visiting infected locations, he added.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0WC2Y320150310

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Arkansas producers have been on alert for the virus since Minnesota and Missouri confirmed cases of highly pathogenic H5N2 bird flu during the past week. The Minnesota case was the first in the Mississippi flyway, a migratory route along the Mississippi River that also includes Missouri and Arkansas.
...
"It's in the wild bird flyway coming from Canada," Texas state veterinarian Dee Ellis said of the virus.

"That's obviously how it went from Minnesota to Missouri to Arkansas."
...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0WC2Y320150310

http://www.fws.gov/refuges/refugeupd...urflyways.html

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USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in Commercial Turkey Flock in
Arkansas
CDC considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks
and commercial poultry, to be low

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2015 -- The United States Department of Agriculture’s
(USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of
highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial turkey flock in Boone County,
Arkansas. The flock of 40,020 turkeys is located within the Mississippi flyway where this strain
of avian influenza has previously been identified. CDC considers the risk to people from these
HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low.

Samples from the turkey flock, which experienced increased mortality, were tested at the
Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the APHIS
National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa confirmed the findings. APHIS is
working closely with the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission on a joint incident
response. State officials quarantined the affected premises and birds on the property will be
depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food
system.

No human infections with the virus have been detected at this time. The Arkansas
Livestock and Poultry Commission is working directly with poultry workers at the affected
facility to ensure that they are taking the proper precautions. As a reminder, the proper handling
and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses.
As part of existing avian influenza response plans, Federal and State partners are working jointly
on additional surveillance and testing in the nearby area. The United States has the strongest AI
surveillance program in the world, and USDA is working with its partners to actively look for the
disease in commercial poultry operations, live bird markets and in migratory wild bird
populations.

USDA will be informing the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as well as
international trading partners of this finding. USDA also continues to communicate with trading
partners to encourage adherence to OIE standards and minimize trade impacts. OIE trade
guidelines call on countries to base trade restrictions on sound science and, whenever possible,
limit restrictions to those animals and animal products within a defined region that pose a risk of
spreading disease of concern.

These virus strains can travel in wild birds without them appearing sick. People should
avoid contact with sick/dead poultry or wildlife. If contact occurs, wash your hands with soap and
water and change clothing before having any contact with healthy domestic poultry and birds.

All bird owners, whether commercial producers or backyard enthusiasts, should continue to
practice good biosecurity, prevent contact between their birds and wild birds, and report sick
birds or unusual bird deaths to State/Federal officials, either through their state veterinarian or
through USDA’s toll-free number at 1-866-536-7593. Additional information on biosecurity for
backyard flocks can be found at http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov.

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http://www.aphis.usda.gov/stakeholde...i_arkansas.pdf

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Butterball confirms ‘limited number of turkeys’ on Missouri, Arkansas farms have H5N2 avian flu

By KELSEY GEE
Updated March 11, 2015 3:57 p.m. ET

A highly contagious strain of bird flu has infected Arkansas and Missouri turkey farms that supply Butterball LLC, escalating a multistate outbreak and raising the prospect of wider international-trade restrictions on U.S. poultry products.

Butterball, one of the largest U.S. turkey processors, confirmed Wednesday that it determined “a limited number of our turkeys” from contract farms had been diagnosed with H5N2 avian influenza.
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http://www.wsj.com/articles/bird-flu...uri-1426094184

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Nearby avian flu puts state on alert

By Brian Fanney
This article was published today at 2:17 a.m.
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George Pat Badley, Arkansas' state veterinarian, said how the disease is being transmitted is a mystery. The U.S. Department of Agriculture believes waterfowl are the most likely culprit, but the spread hasn't followed past patterns.

"It's not spreading from farm to farm, it's just jumping," Badley said. "Normally you would expect maybe a backyard flock that's outside to get it first if it's being transferred by waterfowl. They're investigating it right now."

Commercial chicken and turkeys are grown in enclosed barns and do not come in contact with outside wildlife.
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http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2...e-on-alert-20/