State of Emergency Declared in Dallas County due to Bird Flu

UPDATED

“You can’t dump your infected bird carcases in our backyard” —Dallas County

Dallas County officials have declared a state of emergency amid the state’s outbreak of avian influenza, according to a news release.

The resolution forbids “the transportation of poultry and poultry waste within a mile of poultry raising facilities. The state of emergency will allow county road officials to place barricades near facilities within the county,” said a report.

“John Benson, a spokesman with Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management, said Dallas County’s state of emergency is similar to the one put in place last week by Gov. Terry Branstad, but with efforts supplemented at a local level

“As many as 3.5 million birds killed because of avian influenza outbreaks in northwest Iowa might be driven across the state and disposed of in a private landfill in Mills County.”

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Bird Flu Claims 4.8 Million More Iowa Chickens

State of Iowa

• Birds Affected: 23,130,698  [additional cases pending]
• Detections Reported: 30
• First Detection Reported: April20, 2015
• Last Detection Reported: May 7, 2015

Poultry producers in NW Iowa have been overwhelmed disposing of more than 23 million birds infected by the deadly virus, officials said.

At least 44 chicken, turkey, and duck flocks have been infected with the HPAI H5 [HPAI H5N8, HPAI H5N2 and HPAI H5N1] virus in 12 counties across Iowa, 11 in the northwest and Madison County.

More than 23 million additional infected birds, or about 45 percent of the state’s egg-laying flock, are slated to be destroyed including more than 22 million laying hens, and an estimated one million turkeys and ducks, according to reports.

The deadly virus has now spread to 30 million birds across at least 18 U.S. states; 13 states have experienced outbreaks in poultry flocks and 5 states have detected H5 in wild birds.

Update on Avian Influenza Findings – Poultry Findings Confirmed by USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories

• Birds Affected: 29,907,671  [additional cases pending]
• Detections Reported: 142
• First Detection Reported: December 19, 2014
• Last Detection Reported: May 7,  2015

Commercial Flocks Infected in at least 13 States: Arkansas, California, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and  Wisconsin.

Wild Flocks with Infection Found in at least 5 States: Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

CDC Influenza Division – Key Points: HPAI H5

• Increased outreach, reporting and surveillance activities in the United States followed the detection of HPAI H5N2 among commercial poultry flocks in Canada in early December 2014.

• USDA has reported
  • HPAI H5N8 virus in California, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Nevada.
  • HPAI H5N2 virus in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kentucky.
  • HPAI H5N1 virus in Washington.
  • H5 virus in a wild bird in New Mexico, but diagnostic test did not determine the neuraminidase (NA).

• HPAI H5N8, HPAI H5N2 and HPAI H5N1 viruses with this combination of genes had not been detected previously in the United States.

 Background

• ‘Unprecedented’ Flu Outbreak Baffles Scientists April 22, 2015
• U-S Bird Flu Outbreak Continues to Spread April 22, 2015
• Flu Deaths Rising Globally  February 15, 2015
• Flu hits epidemic levels in U.S.  January 2, 2015
• ‘Highly Contagious’ Strain of Bird Flu Discovered in Holland November 17, 2014

‘Unprecedented’ Flu Outbreak Baffles Scientists

Millions of birds killed as AI spreads across 15 states

This is so unusual that we can’t help but think something different must be going on —avian medicine expert

A lethal strain of avian influenza (AI) has been detected at an egg-laying facility in NW Iowa, the top U.S. egg-producing state, forcing the health authorities to destroy millions of laying hens, according to USDA.

Iowa has a $2 billion egg-laying industry with about 50 million hens that supply 1 in every 5 eggs consumed across the U.S.

The latest outbreak has occurred at an egg production facility with at least 3.8 million laying hens in Osceola County, which has been placed under quarantine. The quarantine covers an area of about 10km (6 miles)  around the farm, a division of Sonstegard Foods Co., based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The outbreak has also prompted Wisconsin to declare a state of emergency after three poultry flocks became infected in the past week.

There are now 15 states with infected birds: Arkansas, California, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

As of Monday, at least 2.6 million birds had been killed.

The strain has also led to the deaths of at least 2.4 million turkeys nationwide (birds either killed by the disease or by authorities working to prevent the spread of virus).

“Authorities have confirmed N5N2 outbreaks at more than 30 commercial poultry farms in the Midwest, including 22 in Minnesota. All were turkey operations except for one chicken farm in Wisconsin,” said a report.

“Minnesota, the nation’s largest turkey producer, is the epicenter of the highly pathogenic H5N2 bird flu. The state annually produces about 46 million turkeys, meaning 4 to 5 percent of Minnesota’s annual production has now been affected by the flu,” said a report.

The virus can kill an entire flock within 48 hours, experts say.

AI spread from Asia to the Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain into the North American poultry farms.

Rapid spread of the virus has alarmed scientists who have so far been unable to unravel the mystery of how the deadly virus have infected so many turkey farms in such a short period of time, said a report.

“It’s been really troubling to understand how in the world this can possibly be happening,” said Carol Cardona, a professor of avian medicine at the University of Minnesota.

“This is so unusual that we can’t help but think something different must be going on,” she said.

“Since December 2014, the United States Department of Agriculture has confirmed several cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 in the Pacific, Central, and Mississippi flyways (or migratory bird paths). The disease has been found in wild birds, as well as in a few backyard and commercial poultry flocks,” said USDA

“The H5N8 virus originated in Asia and spread rapidly along wild bird migratory pathways during 2014, including the Pacific flyway.  In the Pacific flyway, the H5N8 virus has mixed with North American avian influenza viruses, creating new mixed-origin viruses.  This is not unexpected.  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.”

U-S Bird Flu Outbreak Continues to Spread

Millions of bird flu cases found in 15 states since December

A lethal strain of bird flu has been detected at an egg-laying facility in NW Iowa, the top U.S. egg-producing state, forcing the health authorities to begin destroying more than 5.3 3.8 million laying hens, according to USDA.

Iowa has a $2 billion egg-laying industry with about 50 million hens that supply 1 in every 5 eggs consumed across the U.S.

The outbreak has also prompted Wisconsin to declare a state of emergency after three poultry flocks became infected in the past week.

There are now 15 states with infected birds: Arkansas, California, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

As of Monday, at least 2.6 million birds had been killed.

The strain has also led to the deaths of at least 2.4 million turkeys nationwide (birds either killed by the disease or by authorities working to prevent the spread of virus).

“Authorities have confirmed N5N2 outbreaks at more than 30 commercial poultry farms in the Midwest, including 22 in Minnesota. All were turkey operations except for one chicken farm in Wisconsin,” said a report.

“Minnesota, the nation’s largest turkey producer, is the epicenter of the highly pathogenic H5N2 bird flu. The state annually produces about 46 million turkeys, meaning 4 to 5 percent of Minnesota’s annual production has now been affected by the flu,” said a report.

The virus can kill an entire flock within 48 hours, experts say.

“Since December 2014, the United States Department of Agriculture has confirmed several cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 in the Pacific, Central, and Mississippi flyways (or migratory bird paths). The disease has been found in wild birds, as well as in a few backyard and commercial poultry flocks,” said USDA

“The H5N8 virus originated in Asia and spread rapidly along wild bird migratory pathways during 2014, including the Pacific flyway.  In the Pacific flyway, the H5N8 virus has mixed with North American avian influenza viruses, creating new mixed-origin viruses.  This is not unexpected.  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.”