Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Markets | Wed Apr 8, 2015 7:39pm EDT
U.S. bird flu outbreak accelerates as wild ducks migrate north
CHICAGO, APRIL 8 | BY TOM POLANSEK
(Reuters) - ...
The number of infections is climbing as migratory ducks, which are believed to be spreading the disease, return to Minnesota to breed after spending the winter farther south, said Beth Thompson, assistant director of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health...
Farm workers are probably infecting turkeys by tracking the virus into barns after stepping in contaminated duck feces, said John Glisson, vice president of research for the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association...
...
So far, efforts to stop the spread by controlling human and vehicle traffic on farms have not worked.
The number of infections may continue to rise through mid-May, when spring migration ends, said Steve Olson, executive director of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association. New cases may accelerate again in the autumn when recently hatched ducks, which have never been exposed to the virus, begin migrating south, he added.
The H5N2 flu will likely remain a threat to U.S. poultry for three to five years, Olson said, citing information from wildlife experts. That is how long it will take wild birds to develop immunity to the disease.
No human cases have been detected.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/08/health-birdflu-spread-idUSL2N0X52LI20150408
U.S. bird flu outbreak accelerates as wild ducks migrate north
CHICAGO, APRIL 8 | BY TOM POLANSEK
(Reuters) - ...
The number of infections is climbing as migratory ducks, which are believed to be spreading the disease, return to Minnesota to breed after spending the winter farther south, said Beth Thompson, assistant director of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health...
Farm workers are probably infecting turkeys by tracking the virus into barns after stepping in contaminated duck feces, said John Glisson, vice president of research for the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association...
...
So far, efforts to stop the spread by controlling human and vehicle traffic on farms have not worked.
The number of infections may continue to rise through mid-May, when spring migration ends, said Steve Olson, executive director of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association. New cases may accelerate again in the autumn when recently hatched ducks, which have never been exposed to the virus, begin migrating south, he added.
The H5N2 flu will likely remain a threat to U.S. poultry for three to five years, Olson said, citing information from wildlife experts. That is how long it will take wild birds to develop immunity to the disease.
No human cases have been detected.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/08/health-birdflu-spread-idUSL2N0X52LI20150408