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US - USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in Kentucky

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  • US - USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in Kentucky

    USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in Kentucky

    Published: Apr 28, 2015 Print
    CDC considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low
    WASHINGTON, April 28, 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 two wild birds, a goose and a duck, in McCracken County, Kentucky. These birds were found 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. No human infections with the virus have been detected at this time.
    The samples, taken from dead birds, were tested by the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia and confirmed by USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa. NVSL is the only internationally recognized AI reference laboratory in the United States. 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 include the confirmation information in routine updates to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). OIE trade guidelines call on countries to base trade restrictions on sound science and specifically state that countries should not impose trade restrictions based on findings of HPAI in wild birds.
    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.
    Additional background
    Avian influenza (AI) is caused by an influenza type A virus which can infect poultry (such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese and guinea fowl) and is carried by free flying waterfowl such as ducks, geese and shorebirds. AI viruses are classified by a combination of two groups of proteins: hemagglutinin or “H” proteins, of which there are 16 (H1–H16), and neuraminidase or “N” proteins, of which there are 9 (N1–N9). Many different combinations of “H” and “N” proteins are possible. Each combination is considered a different subtype, and can be further broken down into different strains. AI viruses are further classified by their pathogenicity (low or high)— the ability of a particular virus strain to produce disease in domestic chickens.
    The current viruses are related to the HPAI H5N8 virus which originated in Asia and spread rapidly along wild bird migratory pathways during 2014, including the Pacific flyway. In the Pacific flyway, the HPAI H5N8 virus has mixed with North American avian influenza viruses, creating new mixed-origin viruses. These mixed-origin viruses contain the Asian-origin H5 part of the virus, which is highly pathogenic to poultry. The N parts of these viruses came from North American low pathogenic avian influenza viruses.
    USDA has identified two mixed-origin viruses in the Pacific Flyway: the HPAI H5N2 virus and new HPAI H5N1 virus. The new HPAI H5N1 virus is not the same virus as the HPAI H5N1 virus found in Asia, Europe and Africa that has caused some human illness. The HPAI H5N2 virus has been detected in the Pacific, Central and Mississippi Flyways.
    Detailed analysis of the virus is underway in cooperation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For more information about the ongoing avian influenza disease incident visit the APHIS website. More information about avian influenza can be found on the USDA avian influenza page. More information about avian influenza and public health is available on the CDC website.


    http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal...DJ0MjDz9vT3NDD z9woIMnDxcDA2CjYEKIoEKDHAARwNC-sP1o8BKnN0dPUzMfYB6TCyMDDxdgPLmlr4GBp5mUAV4rCjIjTD IdFRUBADp5_lR/?1dmy&urile=wcm%3apath%3a%2Faphis_content_library% 2Fsa_newsroom%2Fsa_stakeholder_announcements%2Fsa_ by_date%2Fsa_2015%2Fsa_04%2Fct_hpai_ky


    hat tip Lisa Schnirring


    #

  • #2
    Since the birds were dead when sampled, could they have been discovered as part of surveillance of hunted birds? If so, there are operations around the country that breed and ship game birds interstate, some also having hunting operations on the premises. This was the case in what was called a 'backyard flock' in WA state.


    FRIDAY, JAN. 30, 2015, 9:57 A.M. Bird flu strikes Okanogan game farm; pheasants to be destroyed

    HUNTING -- An outbreak of avian influenza in a private game farm in Okanogan County is forcing federal and state agriculture officials to kill up to 5,000 ducks, geese, chickens, pheasants and turkeys.
    About 40 birds at a game farm for private hunting and bird-dog training in Riverside, Washington, were sick and died over the weekend. The birds tested positive for bird flu on Tuesday....
    So far this KY 'wild bird' announcement is targeted only towards USDA's 'stakeholders' and the few who read the public part of that niche. I don't see this reported in the wild bird findings on the APHIS site that lists all outbreaks by state. (Wild birds are at the bottom.):

    _____________________________________________

    Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

    i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

    "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

    (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
    Never forget Excalibur.

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    • #3
      Could they have a match to an older H5N2 strain circulating in Kentucky mallards in 2006, rather than the current H5N2 strain causing outbreaks in domestic poultry?

      This popped up in a Google search:

      http://www.fludb.org/brc/fluStrainDe...ator=influenza

      Influenza Strain Details for A/mallard/Kentucky/472048-2/2006(H5N2)
      Last edited by Emily; May 4, 2015, 02:02 PM. Reason: Link has been fixed.
      _____________________________________________

      Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

      i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

      "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

      (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
      Never forget Excalibur.

      Comment


      • #4
        Host is human?

        http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy....cgi?id=675027
        Influenza A virus (A/mallard/Kentucky/472048-2/2006(H5N2))

        Taxonomy ID: 675027
        Inherited blast name: viruses
        Rank: no rank
        Genetic code: Translation table 1 (Standard)
        Host: vertebrates| human Lineage( full ) Viruses; ssRNA viruses; ssRNA negative-strand viruses; Orthomyxoviridae; Influenzavirus A; Influenza A virus; H5N2 subtype
        Entrez records
        Database name Direct links
        Nucleotide 8
        Protein 10
        Taxonomy 1
        ..
        ETA:
        The host field might be a mistake, since all the H5N2 viruses in this database are listed as having human hosts...

        http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy...hmode=1&unlock
        Last edited by Emily; April 29, 2015, 06:43 PM.
        _____________________________________________

        Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

        i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

        "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

        (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
        Never forget Excalibur.

        Comment


        • #5
          Avian Influenza Confirmed in Kentucky – But There’s a Twist

          By Allison Floyd
          Wednesday, April 29th, 2015
          ...
          The two cases confirmed on Tuesday actually were from samples taken on March 10, which fits with the migratory patterns of wild birds traveling north, said Anthony Pescatore, a poultry expert with the Kentucky Extension system.
          “The key point about the Peducah case is that it was a confirmation of a sample collected more than six weeks ago,” Pescatore said. “The date does coincide with the natural migration of wild birds. A falcon was found near St. Louis (Mo.) around the same time.”
          The birds – a snow goose and a ring-necked duck – were discovered in a wildlife preserve area in McCracken County, which borders the Ohio River.


          All the wildlife preserves I could find that fit the location description are heavily used for hunting and the season begins in March, probably because that is when the birds are migrating through there. The birds could have become positive due to many possible exposures. Since they were migrating south to north and the first cases of H5N2 was discovered in British Columbia on large poultry farms in Dec of 2014, it is hard to explain long distance migration as a factor.

          _____________________________________________

          Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

          i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

          "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

          (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
          Never forget Excalibur.

          Comment


          • #6
            OIE Report - May 08, 2015 -
            Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N2 -
            ...
            Outbreak 11 (107) McCraken County, McCraken, KENTUCKY
            Date of start of the outbreak 24/04/2015
            Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
            Epidemiological unit Not applicable
            Affected animals
            Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
            Snow Goose:Anser caerulescens(Anatidae)
            Affected population Wild bird surveillance.
            ...
            Outbreak 14 (108) McCraken County, McCraken, KENTUCKY
            Date of start of the outbreak 24/04/2015
            Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided)
            Epidemiological unit Not applicable
            Affected animals
            Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
            Ring-necked Duck:Aythya collaris(Anatidae)
            Affected population Wild bird surveillance.
            ...
            http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/public/wa...reportid=17688
            "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
            -Nelson Mandela

            Comment


            • #7
              Egg Industry Center
              May 5, 2015
              ...

              WHAT ABOUT THOSE KY BIRDS?
              ...
              DR. Mohamed (Mo) El-Gazzar, Assistant Professor and Poultry Extension Veterinarian with the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at The Ohio State University, was able to add an important clarification to the Kentucky birds findings. These birds were found dead and collected on March 10, 2015. While they had avian influenza, they actually died of fowl cholera.
              ...

              http://www.iowaagriculture.gov/anima...May2015_V2.pdf
              "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
              -Nelson Mandela

              Comment

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