U.S. agriculture department finds bird flu in Montana wild duck

[Treyfish]

Mon Jan 9, 2017 | 5:30pm EST U.S. agriculture department finds bird flu in Montana wild duck

By Tom Polansek | CHICAGO
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday it had detected a type of bird flu in a wild duck in Montana that appeared to match one of the strains found during an outbreak of the disease in 2014 and 2015 that led to the deaths of millions of chickens.
No U.S. poultry have been found to be sick or dead from the disease in connection with the latest discovery, the USDA said.
Different strains of bird flu, which can be spread to poultry by wild birds, have been confirmed across Asia and in Europe in recent weeks. Authorities have culled millions of birds in affected areas to control the outbreaks.
In 2014 and 2015, the United States killed nearly 50 million birds, most of which were egg-laying hens, during its bout of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI. The losses pushed U.S. egg prices to record highs and prompted trading partners to ban imports of U.S. poultry.
?This finding serves as a powerful reminder that there is still HPAI circulating in wild birds, and producers and industry need to continue to be vigilant about biosecurity to protect domestic poultry," said Jack Shere, the USDA's chief veterinarian.
The infected mallard duck in Montana was found as part of routine surveillance for bird flu, according to the USDA. The agency said it was actively looking for the virus in commercial poultry operations, live bird markets and in other wild migratory birds, which can carry the disease without appearing sick.
The strain of flu detected in Montana was a "Eurasian/North American reassortant" of the H5N2 strain of the virus, according to the USDA.
France, which has the largest poultry flock in the European Union, has reported outbreaks of the highly contagious H5N8 bird flu virus.
In South Korea, the rapid spread of the H5N6 strain of the virus has led to the country's worst-ever outbreak of bird flu.
In China, people have died this winter amid an outbreak of the H7N9 virus in birds.
No human infections have occurred in the United States, according to the USDA.http://www.reuters.com/article/us-he...-idUSKBN14T2FV

[Treyfish]

The same bird flu that wiped out millions of US egg laying hens is back

Chase Purdy
2 hours ago

The US poultry industry is on high alert after the US Department of Agriculture on Jan. 9 announced a dangerous strain of H5N2 avian influenza was discovered on a duck in Fergus County, Montana.
Word about that particular strain of bird flu is enough to trigger nightmares for many American egg farmers, who suffered more than $1 billion in losses over six months after the virus spread from migratory birds and into their flocks in 2015, killing more than 48 million hens in 223 separate outbreaks across the country. During that period, egg prices surged by as much as 31%.
?This finding serves as a powerful reminder that there is still [avian influenza] circulating in wild birds, and producers and industry need to continue to be vigilant about biosecurity to protect domestic poultry,? said Jack Shere, the government?s chief veterinarian.

The virus outbreak in 2015 caused US trading partners to ban American egg exports. Revenue for the poultry industry dropped $400 million, or 14%, in the first half of that year compared to the previous year, according to the USDA?s Foreign Agricultural Service. US congressional leaders held hearings to discuss how to improve poultry barn biosecurity, and the USDA dispatched investigators into midwest and southern states to assist in installing protective measures.
This time around, the egg industry says it?s cautiously optimistic about measures taken to protect against the virus. Those include restricting the number of people with access to egg farms, preventing hens from being exposed to wild birds and their droppings, increasing veterinary monitoring of flocks, and using protective gear when working around hens, said United Egg Producers president Chad Gregory .
?Consumers should know that avian influenza cannot be transmitted through safely handled and properly cooked eggs and poultry,? Gregory added.
The virus is particularly threatening because of how easily it can be transmitted. Excrement from infected migratory fowl flying above farms and barns can seep through cracks in barn roofs. Farm workers can track it into barns with dirty shoes, and farm trucks can even carry it on dirty wheels. If one bird is found to be sick, farmers must then destroy the entire flock, often by gassing hundreds of birds to death at once.

[Treyfish]

..The infected mallard duck in Montana was found as part of routine surveillance for bird flu, according to the USDA. The agency said it was actively looking for the virus in commercial poultry operations, live bird markets and in other wild migratory birds, which can carry the disease without appearing sick.
The strain of flu detected in Montana was a "Eurasian/North American reassortant" of the H5N2 strain of the virus, according to the USDA...http://www.inforum.com/news/4195525-...tana-wild-duck

[Pathfinder]

Jan 9, 2017, 12:00:00 PM MST

USDA Detects Eurasian lineage H5 Avian Influenza in a Wild Mallard Duck in Montana

Published: Jan 9, 2017

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Contacts:
Donna.L.Karlsons@aphis.usda.gov
Lyndsay.M.Cole@aphis.usda.gov

January 9, 2017 – Washington – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has detected the presence of Eurasian/North American reassortant H5N2 avian influenza in a wild mallard duck in Fergus County, Montana. No illness or mortalities in domestic poultry in the U.S. have been detected.

The sample, taken from a hunter-harvested bird through routine surveillance, was tested at the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and forwarded to USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. Characterization of the sample is ongoing.

“This appears to be one of the strains we saw during the outbreak in 2014 and 2015,” said Dr. Jack Shere, USDA Chief Veterinarian. “This finding serves as a powerful reminder that there is still avian influenza circulating in wild birds, and producers and industry need to continue to be vigilant about biosecurity to protect domestic poultry.”

Wild migratory waterfowl are a natural reservoir for avian influenza, and these viruses 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.

CDC considers the risk to the general public from these H5 HPAI infections to be low. No human infections have occurred in the United States. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses, including HPAI.
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.

Anyone involved with poultry production from the small backyard to the large commercial producer should review their biosecurity activities to assure the health of their birds. To facilitate such a review, a biosecurity self-assessment can be found at http://www.uspoultry.org/animal_husbandry/intro.cfm.

USDA recently launched Defend the Flock, a new educational campaign that provides commercial poultry owners and growers, as well as the poultry industry and federal/state/local animal health officials, resources to help ensure that the best biosecurity practices are used to protect commercial flocks from infectious disease. Defend the Flock information can be found at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animalhealth/defendtheflock

Hunters should dress game birds in the field whenever possible and practice good biosecurity to prevent any potential disease spread. Biosecurity information is available at: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publicati...ai_hunters.pdf

In addition to practicing good biosecurity, all bird owners should 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.

USDA Detects Eurasian lineage H5 Avian Influenza in a Wild Mallard Duck in Montana
Jan 9, 2017, 12:00:00 PM MST

[Pathfinder]

Highly pathogenic influenza A viruses (infection with) (non-poultry and wild birds), United States of America

Information received on 10/01/2017 from Dr John Clifford, Official Delegate, Chief Trade Advisor, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, United States of America

Summary Report type Immediate notification Date of start of the event 27/12/2016 Date of confirmation of the event 09/01/2017 Report date 09/01/2017 Date submitted to OIE 10/01/2017 Reason for notification Reoccurrence of a listed disease Date of previous occurrence 10/11/2016 Manifestation of disease Sub-clinical infection Causal agent Highly pathogenic influenza A virus Serotype H5N2 Nature of diagnosis Laboratory (advanced) This event pertains to a defined zone within the country

New outbreaks (1)

Outbreak 1 Fergus County, Fergus, MONTANA Date of start of the outbreak 27/12/2016 Outbreak status Continuing (or date resolved not provided) Epidemiological unit Not applicable Affected animals Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered Mallard:Anas platyrhynchos(Anatidae) Affected population Wild mallard duck

Summary of outbreaks Total outbreaks: 1 Total animals affected Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered Mallard:Anas platyrhynchos(Anatidae) ** Outbreak statistics Species Apparent morbidity rate Apparent mortality rate Apparent case fatality rate Proportion susceptible animals lost* Mallard:Anas platyrhynchos(Anatidae) ** ** ** ** *Removed from the susceptible population through death, destruction and/or slaughter **Not calculated because of missing information

Epidemiology Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection Contact with wild species Epidemiological comments The sample, from a wild mallard duck, was collected on 27 December 2016 as part of the hunter ? harvested wild bird avian influenza surveillance program. Genome sequencing results show that the Montana isolate is an Eurasian/American (EA/AM) H5N2 HPAI strain. The partial genome fragments that have been analyzed thus far are >99% similar to the virus isolated from a northern pintail duck in Washington State in December 2014. The H5N2 outbreak viruses from 2015 were all >99% similar to the northern pintail index case (A/Northern pintail/Washington/40964/2014 H5N2). Efforts to obtain sequence data for the full genome are underway. This detection of HPAI (EA/AM) H5N2 virus in a wild bird is NOT associated with any commercial poultry in the United States.

Control measures Measures applied Vaccination permitted (if a vaccine exists) No treatment of affected animals Measures to be applied No other measures

Diagnostic test results Laboratory name and type Species Test Test date Result National Veterinary Services (National laboratory) Mallard gene sequencing 09/01/2017 Positive National Veterinary Services (National laboratory) Mallard real-time reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) 05/01/2017 Positive National Veterinary Services (National laboratory) Mallard virus isolation Pending

Future Reporting The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted.

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http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/public/wahid.php/Reviewreport/Review?page_refer=MapFullEventReport&reportid=22231