Top USDA veterinarian: Bird flu outbreak may last for years and be 'devastating' to poultry

[Pathfinder]

Top USDA veterinarian: Bird flu outbreak may last for years and be 'devastating' to poultry

Associated Press April 16, 2015 | 7:18 p.m. EDT
By STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ? The nation's poultry industry may have to live with a deadly bird flu strain for several years, which would be "devastating," the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief veterinary officer said Thursday.

Dr. John Clifford also said that while new cases should drop to close to zero once the weather warms up and kills off the virus, there's "very likely" to be a resurgence this fall when the wild waterfowl that are natural carriers of avian influenza fly south for the winter.
...
"If it sticks around and continues it's going to be very devastating to our poultry industry and our international markets, trade markets, as well as the loss domestically," Clifford said in an interview with The Associated Press. "That's why we have to really use this time appropriately to do all that we can to determine how best we can address and prevent introductions in the future."
...
While some USDA officials have told Minnesota officials the virus could be a problem for three to five years, Clifford said it's impossible to be certain.
...
The ducks blamed for bringing H5N2 to Minnesota and other Midwestern states migrate through the country's midsection.

The broiler chicken industry, which produces chickens for meat, is clustered along the East Coast in states such as Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and Maryland. Clifford said the waterfowl that brought the virus to an infected farm in southern Ontario are likely from flocks that either migrate along the East Coast or intermingle with flocks that do.
...
http://www.usnews.com/news/business...narian-bird-flu-outbreak-could-be-devastating

 

[AnnaLisa]

My small flock was quarantined on Tuesday. The State veterinarians were here to test them and will be back in 2 weeks if we don't have a problem sooner. I live 3/4th of a mile downwind of the ground zero CAFO in Wisconsin, the one in Jefferson Co. So far, my small flock is healthy. I know that the high path H5N2 hasn't caused any human disease but, I see that it is on the WHO watch list. Are they referring to mutation for human disease?

 

[Pathfinder]

My small flock was quarantined on Tuesday. The State veterinarians were here to test them and will be back in 2 weeks if we don't have a problem sooner. I live 3/4th of a mile downwind of the ground zero CAFO in Wisconsin, the one in Jefferson Co. So far, my small flock is healthy. I know that the high path H5N2 hasn't caused any human disease but, I see that it is on the WHO watch list. Are they referring to mutation for human disease?

Hattip: Sharon Sanders:

https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...uses-h5n1-h7n9-h5n2-h5n6-h5n8-h5n3-h9n2-h10n8

WHO - Warning signals from the volatile world of influenza viruses - H5N1 H7N9 H5N2 H5N6 H5N8 H5N3 H9N2 H10N8
...
Over the past two years, H5N1 has been joined by newly detected H5N2, H5N3, H5N6, and H5N8 strains, all of which are currently circulating in different parts of the world. In China, H5N1, H5N2, H5N6, and H5N8 are currently co-circulating in birds together with H7N9 and H9N2.
...
Virologists interpret the recent proliferation of emerging viruses as a sign that co-circulating influenza viruses are rapidly exchanging genetic material to form novel strains. Viruses of the H5 subtype have shown a strong ability to contribute to these so-called ?reassortment? events.

The genomes of influenza viruses are neatly segmented into eight separate genes that can be shuffled like playing cards when a bird or mammal is co-infected with different viruses. With 18 HA (haemagluttinin) and 11 NA (neuraminidase) subtypes known, influenza viruses can constantly reinvent themselves in a dazzling array of possible combinations. This appears to be happening now at an accelerated pace.

For example, H5N2 viruses recently detected in poultry in Canada and in wild birds in the US are genetically different from H5N1 viruses circulating in Asia. These viruses have a mix of genes from a Eurasian H5N8 virus, likely introduced into the Pacific Flyway in late 2014, along with genes from North American influenza viruses.

Little is known about the potential of these novel viruses to infect humans, but some isolated human infections have been detected...

 

[AnnaLisa]

Thanks, I did read that and it got me to wondering about the type of health surveillance they are planning on doing in humans. My county is CAFO central and we are knee deep in manure to the point they are spraying it. (Dumbest idea on the planet.) Looks like there is reason to be concerned and be smart but not to go into panic mode. I was told to call the state if any of my animals gets ill or dies and they said they will come and take care of it (euthanizing all my poultry, 2 heritage breed turkeys, 11 hens (several are elderly), 1 rooster and 13 chicks). I hope I don't have to do that. The newspaper said the state is having a hard time getting enough staff to euthanize the chickens in the CAFO. (Likely due to budget cuts) The chickens are still dying of the flu in there. Apparently the barns won't permit the use of suffocating foam and they have to bring in some kind of container where they use carbon dioxide gas. This is just awful. I just hope this doesn't become a human health problem as so many people are so exposed here. It makes me want to move but lately our state is 'open for business' and likely any where we go will be at risk of some type of CAFO and not enough public health infrastructure and veterinary/ag health infrastructure. They also said they are composting the carcasses as they don't want to expose the people to having to breathe the smelly smoke. Frankly, I think burning them is a better idea, and we are used to stink around here, it's not like live chickens by the millions don't stink.

 

[Emily]

Thanks, I did read that and it got me to wondering about the type of health surveillance they are planning on doing in humans. My county is CAFO central and we are knee deep in manure to the point they are spraying it. (Dumbest idea on the planet.) Looks like there is reason to be concerned and be smart but not to go into panic mode. I was told to call the state if any of my animals gets ill or dies and they said they will come and take care of it (euthanizing all my poultry, 2 heritage breed turkeys, 11 hens (several are elderly), 1 rooster and 13 chicks). I hope I don't have to do that. The newspaper said the state is having a hard time getting enough staff to euthanize the chickens in the CAFO. (Likely due to budget cuts) The chickens are still dying of the flu in there. Apparently the barns won't permit the use of suffocating foam and they have to bring in some kind of container where they use carbon dioxide gas. This is just awful. I just hope this doesn't become a human health problem as so many people are so exposed here. It makes me want to move but lately our state is 'open for business' and likely any where we go will be at risk of some type of CAFO and not enough public health infrastructure and veterinary/ag health infrastructure. They also said they are composting the carcasses as they don't want to expose the people to having to breathe the smelly smoke. Frankly, I think burning them is a better idea, and we are used to stink around here, it's not like live chickens by the millions don't stink.

I hope your flock escapes this flu, especially because of the depopulation mandate. (At least that cruel foam seems off the table.)

Regarding the burning vs composting of remains, I think some people fear that burning infectious manure was involved in the first initial 1918 outbreak at Fort Riley, Kansas:

THE 1918 FLU PANDEMIC: IMPLICATIONS FOR HOMELAND SECURITY IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM
BY COLONEL STEPHEN M. KIRKLAND
United States Army Reserve
...
In retrospect there are data suggesting that there might have been some early
warning to the U.S. and the world with infections noted in some of the military camps of
World War I and there is general agreement that the pandemic occurred in three
waves.11 The initial wave of the influenza hit in March of 1918 at Fort Riley, Kansas.12
The troops there burned tons of manure, so much so that descriptions of the event
noted that the sky was black.13 Two days later a young and healthy soldier reported to
the post hospital with a fever.14 By noon that day, March 11, over 100 cases were
noted and by the week?s end the number had risen to 500.15 Eventually 48 soldiers
died of the illness that was originally thought to be some kind of pneumonia.16 Many
believed it came about as a result of the toxic plume from the manure fires, but no one
expected it to be the first wave of pandemic flu.17 Of particular importance in this event
is that the victims were young, in the prime of life and in seemingly good health. Such
facts were not coincidental and indeed later were learned to be a hallmark of the virulent
1918 virus...

http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA478212​

Possibly some high-tech process exists to safely incinerate hazardous biological materials, but badly done, it might spread viruses and allow them to penetrate deeply in the lungs.

 

[sharon sanders]

Thanks for the on the ground reporting AnnaLisa. All best wishes to you and your family.

Epidemiol Infect. 2015 Mar 12:1-10.
Serological comparison of antibodies to avian influenza viruses, subtypes H5N2, H6N1, H7N3 and H7N9 between poultry workers and non-poultry workers in Taiwan in 2012.

"Subclinical infections caused by H5N2, H6N1 and H7N3 viruses were thus identified in poultry workers in Taiwan"

https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/...taiwan-in-2012

 

[AnnaLisa]

Thank YOU for the information, and also the heads up on H5N2. I am more concerned now than I was before, and, especially due to the large number of infected birds and potentially infected birds. H5N2 is indeed a novel virus and we really don't know what this strain is, or what it could do. It seems the news coming out, is predominantly aimed at pacifying the public that lives near these huge facilities. Last night's newspaper stated they didn't want us to have to cope with the odor of burning chickens. We have a facility now that 'cooks' manure and dead chickens and the odor is very bad. We also have farms that are aerosolizing manure, spraying it out of irrigation nozzles. I was concerned before and am far more concerned now.