Bird flu suspected in second Washington flock

Bird flu has apparently infected a second backyard flock in the Tri-Cities area of south-central Washington, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

The second flock was exposed to the highly pathogenic H5N2 virus by domestic ducks transferred from the first infected flock, WSDA said.

The 100 birds in the first flock — a collection of ducks, chickens and turkeys — were euthanized Monday. The 500 birds in the second flock will be euthanized today, WSDA spokesman Hector Castro said.

Bird flu has not been confirmed in the second flock, but birds are dying at an unusual rate, he said. “All the signs are this flock was infected,” Castro said.

The ducks were moved between the flocks, which are about 9 miles apart, around Christmas, before bird flu was detected around New Year’s Eve in the first flock, Castro said.

The flock owners know each other and exchange birds, he said.

WSDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials have set up surveillance zones within about 6 miles of the two flocks. Officials planned to look for other signs of bird flu cases.

Castro said backyard flocks are common in the area.

Officials suspect the first flock was infected by migratory waterfowl. A wild duck and captive gyrfalcon that was fed wild duck were infected by highly pathogenic avian influenza in December.

Also in December, a 100-bird backyard flock in Winston in southern Oregon on property with a pond and marsh was infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Bird flu has not been detected in U.S. commercial poultry, but the infections in backyard flocks has cost the United States its designation as a country free of highly pathogenic bird flu. Several countries have restricted U.S. poultry imports.

Avian flu has been found in several commercial poultry operations in British Columbia, Canada.

Highly pathogenic bird flu had never been detected before in Washington or Oregon and hadn’t been seen in the United States for a decade.

Backyard flock owners will be compensated for euthanized birds through a USDA program.

WSDA officials say that the greatest risk for bird flu spreading is from migratory waterfowl coming in contact with domestic birds. Officials advised flock owners to keep their birds away from wild birds.

To report sick or dead domestic birds to the WSDA, call 1-800-606-3056.

http://www.capitalpress.com/Washington/20150106/bird-flu-suspected-in-second-washington-flock

Tests confirm high-path H5N2 in British Columbia poultry

Canadian health officials today confirmed highly pathogenic H5N2 avian flu in two of the four H5-related poultry outbreaks in British Columbia's Fraser Valley near Vancouver, one of several evolving stories on avian flu outbreaks around the world.

Harpreet Kochhar, DVM, PhD, Canada's chief veterinary officer, said in a press briefing today that test results on turkeys at a farm in Abbotsford and on chickens at a farm in Chilliwack confirmed highly pathogenic H5N2. Two other farms, also in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, that received chickens from the first Chilliwack farm have birds that tested positive for H5; they await confirmatory testing on the exact strain.

"The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's [CFIA's] testing at the National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases has confirmed the strain causing the avian influenza outbreak on two farms in the Fraser Valley as a highly pathogenic H5N2 virus," Kochhar said.

Authorities in the Netherlands, meanwhile, have reported a fifth outbreak of H5N8 in domestic birds, while India is combatting a third outbreak of H5N1 in poultry.

Confirmatory tests awaited for 2 farms

"The Province of British Columbia has informed the CFIA that preliminary test results from the two additional farms that were quarantined yesterday are presumptive positive for H5 avian influenza," Kochhar noted. "The CFIA will conduct further confirmatory testing."

The CFIA yesterday placed the third and fourth farms under quarantine and said the agency in the coming days will cull and dispose of all birds on the affected farms. A news release yesterday from the CFIA said it will compensate farmers for lost poultry, paying $20 for a non-breeding chicken, $1,200 for a breeding chicken, $70 for a turkey, and $1,050 for a breeding turkey.

The agency said other compensation might also be available. All farms are within about 5 miles of each other.

Jane Pritchard, DVM, chief veterinary officer with British Columbia's Ministry of Agriculture, said at the press conference that the H5 findings in the additional farms were not surprising. "These results were expected based on the tracing of bird movement from one of the original farms," she said.

"It was great work on the ground that predicted the likelihood that these farms would be positive and led to the precautionary quarantine on farms 3 and 4. Through due diligence we were ahead of the game on this."

She added that officials have not detected other unusual losses of poultry on other Fraser Valley farms or symptoms of avian flu in birds. CFIA and British Columbia authorities are going from farm to farm to monitor for further outbreaks.

Pritchard said the disease is unlikely to go undetected because of its impact on birds. "We think that it's about a 3- to 5-day incubation period. And we also know that if it hits, the [poultry] producer isn't going to miss it."

In a report posted by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) yesterday, officials specified that the outbreak at the initially affected farm in Chilliwack was restricted to one of three barns. In the affected barn, all 700 of the 24-week-old chickens died from H5N2.

One adjacent unaffected barn contains 47-week-old chickens, while the other contains 1-week-old pullets. The farm housed 7,000 poultry before the outbreak.

Pritchard said that at the Abbotsford turkey farm, the "vast majority" of 11,000 turkeys in one barn died from H5N2. The remainder in the barn will be culled, as will flocks of about 3,000 and 14,000 in other barns, she added.

Signs of mutation

Canada has experienced low-pathogenic H5N2 outbreaks in British Columbia in 2005 and 2009 and in Manitoba in 2010, but this appears to be the first outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N2 in the country.

In response to a question, Kochhar said the change "is reflective that these viruses are actively mutating." He said the high-path designation means the virus is both highly contagious and produces high mortality in domestic birds.

When asked if the outbreak is showing signs of being contained, Kochhar said it's still in its early stages. Pritchard added, "Our intention is to come out of this quickly and get back to normal as soon as possible."

Another Washington bird flock falls victim to avian flu

BENTON COUNTY, Wash. -- Another southeastern Washington chicken farmer has lost his flock to avian flu, and there are sure to be more.

The flu is spreading quickly as wild birds migrate south from British Columbia, carrying strains of the disease never seen before in the U.S.

State and federal agriculture inspectors carry out the deadly deed at a small farm near Richland. By nightfall they will have captured and put to death 500 chickens, ducks and turkeys.

Agriculture officials are considering a poultry quarantine to keep any birds from the area of the two infected farms, but this outbreak knows no true containment.

The virus is believed to be travelling on the wings of birds migrating all the way from the Arctic and even Asia down the Pacific flyway, infecting wild and domestic flocks along the way.

Rangers at the McNary National Wildlife Refuge are part of testing program to see how widespread the disease is in wild waterfowl.

"Lately there's been a couple biologists from USGS, they're doing samples of the birds," said Cory Thompson, McNary National Wildlife Refuge.

The biologists are asking hunters to provide samples so they can see which birds are carrying the virus that has killed wild birds in the state already.

But with some ducks apparently able to survive while carrying the disease, there is potential for a major outbreak. That's why inspectors quickly destroy infected flocks.

Biologists wear protective gear - not because they are afraid of getting the virus from the birds. What they're afraid of is bringing the virus off of the farm, so those protective suits will be burned and destroyed and never leave the area.

And with so many backyard poultry operations in the area, the inspections have really just begun.

"That could mean that actually in the next week or so, USDA teams go door to door in some neighborhoods where they see flocks," said Hector Castro, Washington Department of Agriculture.

And with each infection they find, the taxpayers' bill will go up. Every farmer who agrees to have their flock destroyed will be compensated.

http://www.king5.com/story/tech/science/environment/2015/01/06/another-washington-bird-flock-falls-victim-to-avian-flu/21370803/

(Side Comment: I also reside in Southern cal on the coast, next to a very large bird sanctuary on the Ocean. Will undoubtedly be a hub soon and I'll be watching this one. )

Volume 37, 1986, pp 1-22

A Lethal Outbreak Of H5N2 Influenza in Poultry in the USA: Virus Characterization and Host Range

Abstract