Washington State - H5N2 found in poultry in Clallam Co.

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/jan/19/avian-flu-found-in-birds-near-port-angeles/

Avian flu found in birds near Port Angeles
It's fourth Washington county hit by disease
By Associated Press
Published: January 19, 2015, 5:44 PM

PORT ANGELES (AP) ? Avian flu has reached Clallam County, and agriculture workers have destroyed all of the infected ducks, chickens and geese.

It's the fourth county in Washington to be hit by the H5N2 bird flu.

This strain of flu is not harmful to humans, but it's contagious and deadly to birds. Officials plan to impose a ban on the movement of eggs in a 6-mile radius of the infection area. Once that's in place, inspectors will search for sick or dead birds, according to the Peninsula Daily News.

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

jan 20 2015

More than 100 ducks, chickens and geese destroyed after avian flu strikes east of Port Angeles

PORT ANGELES ? Avian flu has been found in a backyard flock of ducks, chickens and geese east of Port Angeles, and all the birds were destroyed.

The H5N2 bird flu strain is not harmful to humans. But the disease is very contagious and deadly among birds, and the fear is that it could spread into commercially-raised chickens and turkeys.

A ban on the movement of eggs, domestic poultry and poultry products within and outside of a 10 kilometer radius? 6.2 miles ? likely will be placed Tuesday around the home at 92 Cosmos Lane in the Agnew area, state Department of Agriculture spokesman Hector Castro said this morning.

It wasn't done today, Castro said, because state offices were closed because of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

An emergency order must be officially adopted by the state before a quarantine zone is established.

Once it's established, state inspectors plan to go door-to-door in the area this week looking for sick or dead birds and voluntary testing of other flocks in the neighborhood.

thanks to Crof