USDA Vet Warns Poultry Farmers to Use Extra Bio-Security to Prevent Avian Influenza

By M.J. Kneiser/WLHR

The USDA says poultry farmers need to take extra precautions to prevent the spread of the H5N2 virus or avian influenza.

The USDA confirmed the H5N2 avian influenza virus had spread from Minnesota turkey farms where it was first discovered in December to commercial chicken farms in Wisconsin and Iowa.

Last week, they announced over eight-million chickens in the upper Midwest have had to be destroyed because the virus has spread.

USDA chief veterinarian Dr. John Clifford, held a press conference last week along with Dr. Alicia Frye from the Centers for Disease Control, and Dr. David Swayne from the USDA’s Southeast Poultry Research Lab.

Clifford said the USDA so far is having good success in controlling the disease.

However, he says there are other concerns.

Dr. David Swayne said they are testing methods to detect the virus and how the virus is transmitted.

Swayne said they are also working on developing a vaccine for this new virus.

One of the challenging things we have is the environmental contamination of this virus from wild water fowl,” he said. “That presents unique challenges, but the US has one of the best in the world surveillance systems for high-path AI and low-path AI. Because of that we’ve been able to get good cooperation from the states locally to find these areas and be able to respond.”

Clifford said the USDA is working with the Centers for Biologics to develop a vaccine, but it is still early days.

He said however, it is imperative poultry farmers continue to practice good biohazard procedures.

“We are working on a potential vaccine strain that can be used as an inactivated vaccine. We’re making progress on this, but it’s a multi-step process,”  he said. “Once we complete our work, which will include testing on chickens and turkeys, the decision to use that vaccine will only be made if it’s necessary in the regulatory process of the eradication. So the process of using vaccines will only be decided by the Animal Plant Protection Service in consultation with the State lab.”

He also said all poultry house workers must wear protective coverings on their shoes and disinfect their hands as they go from one poultry house to another.

“With any commercial operation, bio-security means you need to clean and disinfect any vehicles going in and out of the property, including the tires,” he said. “Any equipment entering or leaving a facility needs to be cleaned and disinfected, even if it’s moving from house to house.”

The virus typically dies out in the warm weather.   Clifford was asked if the virus re-emerges in wild water fowl in the fall, does it have the potential to spread to the south and east coast.

Clifford said at this point, they have no way of knowing what will happen in the fall when the weather gets colder.