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1. USDA Confirms More Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in 11 Flocks in Minnesota and Iowa
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Bulletin
April 29, 2015
WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) in additional 11 flocks in Minnesota and Iowa. No human infections with the virus have been detected at this time. CDC considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low.
USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed HPAI H5N2 in the following counties and states:
Sioux County, Iowa (April 28, 2015)
3.66 million chickens
2nd detection in this county
O'Brien County, Iowa (April 28, 2015)
240,000 chickens
O'Brien County, Iowa (April 28, 2015)
98,000 chickens
2nd detection in this county
Osceola County, Iowa (April 28, 2015)
258,000 chickens
2nd detection in this county
Stearns County, Minnesota (April 28, 2015)
19,100 turkeys
11th detection in this county
Steele County, Minnesota (April 28, 2015)
82,900 turkeys
Swift County, Minnesota (April 28, 2015)
Turkeys (flock size pending)
3rd detection in this county
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota (April 28, 2015)
Turkeys (flock size pending)
20th detection in this county
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota (April 28, 2015)
8,400 turkeys
21st detection in this county
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota (April 28, 2015)
Turkeys (flock size pending)
22nd detection in this county
Kandiyohi County, Minnesota (April 28, 2015)
Turkeys (flock size pending)
23rd detection in this county
Full text:
http://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/bulletins/101d17b
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2. Poultry producers meet with Klobuchar about bird flu [MN - edited]
By Andrew Broman editor@independentreview.net
CrowRiverMedia.com
April 29, 2015 [updated]
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar met with poultry producers in Litchfield on Monday to listen to their concerns about the region's ongoing avian flu outbreak.
"People are pretty frank about how difficult this is for their families," Klobuchar said about the meeting at the Family Services Center on North Holcombe Avenue. She added, "A lot of small producers are in danger of losing everything."
As of Tuesday, the virus has affected 3.1 million birds at 55 commercial farms, and cases have been confirmed in 18 counties.
Klobuchar and Minnesota Turkey Association Executive Director Steve Olson spoke with journalists after Monday's meeting. Olson estimated about 25 people attended the meeting, though he declined to identify other attendees.
Topics raised during discussions included whether the federal government could contribute more funding to assist producers hit by flu outbreaks, according to Klobuchar.
When an outbreak hits a farm, all birds are euthanized as a precautionary measure, and nearly 2.6 million commercial turkeys have been affected statewide. Farmers are compensated for birds euthanized but not birds killed by the virus itself.
Full text: http://tinyurl.com/pa5ndyy
See also:
Agriculture Committee Leadership Ask for Avian Flu Emergency Assistance
House Committee on Agriculture News Release
April 29, 2015
U.S. Senate and House Agriculture Committee leadership today called for emergency assistance to be released to poultry and egg producers whose flocks suffered losses due to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N2 infections.
Agriculture Committee Chairmen Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Rep. K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, and Ranking Members Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget.
The following is the text of the letter sent today, April 29, 2015:
As leadership of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, we write to express our extreme concern regarding Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N2 infections that continue to impact our nation's poultry and egg laying flocks. We recognize the recent support USDA and OMB have extended to the impacted areas and look forward to continuing to work together to mitigate this dangerous situation. This virus is proving incredibly infectious, affecting nearly 100 farms in over a dozen states and requiring the depopulation of approximately eight million birds in agriculture production across the country. Despite extreme precautions taken by farmers to protect the health of their flocks and the best scientific minds in the country working to halt the spread of HPAI, this virus continues to infect farms across the country and requires significant resources to curtail its effects.
The migratory birds carrying this disease are flying north, through dense poultry producing regions of the country, and feed at bodies of water within very close proximity to commercial poultry farms. In Minnesota, which has been hit the hardest by HPAI infections, nearly all of the 52 impacted farms have been located within a few hundred yards of a lake. As migration continues through the spring and fall, the virus is expected to continue spreading. While warmer temperatures help suppress the virulence of the virus, the consistently hot temperatures necessary to suppress the virus are not expected in the northern Midwest until later in the summer. Further, there is currently no available vaccine for this strain of HPAI.
It is with this background that we emphasize the urgency in which the Secretary of Agriculture be approved to utilize his emergency Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) transfer authority to help mitigate the spread of HPAI and limit the economic damages it causes to poultry farmers whose flocks become infected with the disease. Such funds are specifically intended by Congress for use in emergency situations such as this HPAI outbreak. USDA recently released CCC funds for indemnity payments to farmers with infected flocks, for management of depopulated flocks and for necessary sanitation efforts at infected farms. These funds will be critical in curtailing the effects of HPAI. However, USDA is expected to request additional CCC funds be issued in the coming weeks to combat the virus as it continues to spread. We recognize that tax-payer dollars must be spent wisely and that CCC funds must be available for other potential emergencies, but in this situation early response to HPAI is critical in ensuring resources are preserved. Further, we remind you that the Animal Health Protection Act clearly states, "a determination by the Secretary of the amount paid... shall be final and not subject to judicial review or review by any officer or employee of the Federal Government other than by the Secretary of the designee of the Secretary." We urge you to ensure that your agency takes all necessary steps to guarantee that it not impede USDA's immediate response to this emergency. Farmers are already facing severe economic hardship due to bird mortality, disruption in their production cycles, and loss of export markets for unscientific reasons. We need to ensure the indemnification process and cleanup of infected farms occurs immediately to avoid additional disruption in rural America.
The spread of HPAI is causing widespread economic devastation throughout rural communities, and we request OMB to assist USDA in alleviating this impact by providing prompt emergency assistance through the release of CCC funds as intended by Congress.
Thank you for your consideration.
cc: The Honorable Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
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3. Groups ask for full lab funding during bird flu crisis [edited]
Feedstuffs
April 29, 2015
Across the Midwest, farmers and producers in 16 states are grappling with the deadly impacts that the avian influenza virus is having on their poultry. Now, more than a dozen national animal health organizations have teamed up, calling upon Congress and the Obama administration to fully fund a lab network that could help.
The National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) - a vital, early-warning disease surveillance program that gives veterinarians and scientists the ability to test for economically devastating diseases, such as mad cow disease and avian and swine influenza, which could impact public health-is tasked with the responsibility of testing thousands of samples from poultry farms all along the Mississippi corridor to help identify and stop the spread of avian influenza. Unfortunately, running national laboratories around-the-clock requires increased staffing and integrated communications systems, which may not be possible without full funding from Congress.
Late Monday, 15 organizations, urged Congress to fully fund the NAHLN in its fiscal 2016 budget and "provide every resource necessary to tackle this and future animal disease outbreaks." It is essential that these labs get the resources they need to curtail the outbreak of the avian flu before it continues its eastward spread and drastically impacts the food supply.
"Congress authorized a new budget line of $15 million for the NAHLN as part of the 2014 Farm Bill. Full funding for this program is absolutely critical because when large-scale animal disease outbreaks occur-such as what we are experiencing now with highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) and last year with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV)-tracking the progress and performing diagnostic tests on thousands of diagnostic samples requires surge capacity, ample staffing, and integrated communications systems," the letter stated.
The AVMA has advocated for full funding of the NAHLN each congressional budget cycle because of the lab network's impact on promoting animal and public health and reducing any interruptions to the U.S. food supply.
Other groups that signed on to the letter included the National Turkey Federation, National Chicken Council, American Assn. of Swine Veterinarians, North American Meat Institute, National Pork Producers Council, National Assn. of Federal Veterinarians, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, United Egg Producers, American Assn. of Avian Pathologists, U.S. Animal Health Assn., American Assn. of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, American Feed Industry Assn. and U.S. Poultry and Egg Assn.
Full text:
http://feedstuffs.com/story-groups-ask-full-lab-funding-during-bird-flu-crisis-45-127025
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4. Wild bird testing shows no signs yet of avian flu [MN]
Mark Steil
Minnesota Public Radio News
April 29, 2015
The mystery behind widespread avian flu infections in poultry flocks in Minnesota and elsewhere continues to deepen.
More than 2,200 tests of waterfowl fecal matter found in the wild in Minnesota yielded no findings of H5N2 influenza virus.
Another 500 or so samples from ducks and geese await testing.
"With our surveillance strategy of getting 3,000 samples from around the state, it looks like we're down to the last 250," said Lou Cornicelli, wildlife research manager with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. "We should be done probably by the end of the week for sure."
Full text:
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/04/29/avian-flu-tests
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5. Ban in importation of feral swine [OK]
GrandLakeNews.com
April 28, 2015
OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) has enacted a ban on the movement of out of state feral swine into the State of Oklahoma. After recent violations of the Feral Swine Control Act where feral swine that were positive for pseudorabies and brucellosis were transported into Oklahoma from Texas, the agency feels it is necessary to ban importation of the swine without the express written consent of the State Veterinarian.
No person shall import feral swine into this state unless the live feral swine are going directly to a slaughter facility in a sealed trailer and accompanied by a USDA VS 1-27 permit for the movement of restricted animals. Those transporting feral swine into this state must now also have the written consent of the State Veterinarian. Illegal importation of feral swine into the state is a felony.
In addition to other statutory authority, the State Veterinarian, upon obtaining concurrence of the State Board of Agriculture, may issue emergency orders governing animals in order to protect the citizens and animals of the state from diseases and pests of animals. This includes prohibiting and or imposing conditions on the importing of animals into the state.
Feral swine pose a serious threat to agricultural producers and property. They are known to carry and transmit multiple diseases that can be contracted by livestock, people, pets and wildlife. The State Veterinarian is charged with protecting the herd health of livestock within the State of Oklahoma and the increased restrictions on movement of out of state feral swine will assist in protecting all Oklahoma livestock producers.
For more information regarding feral swine, or to report illegal activity visit: http://ok.gov/ais/feralswine
Source:
http://grandlakenews.com/news/article_68a224ed-6b30-51f7-b4ff-a26469140a8b.html
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6. You'll need a (veterinarian's) note for that
By Mary Soukup
DairyHerd.com
April 28, 2015
Producers, veterinarians need to be prepared for changes ahead in the use of antibiotics in cattle.
Among the priorities cattlemen and women balance each day, it's a safe bet that the health and well-being of their animals is close to or at the top of the list. A producer's animal health and well-being program likely includes practices related to nutrition, genetics and reproduction, animal handling and more, but central to any comprehensive animal health program is having effective tools available to prevent and control specific diseases. For producers in all segments of the cattle industry, changes are coming in the way certain antibiotics are accessed and used, and now is the time to begin taking steps to prepare for those changes.
Full text:
http://www.dairyherd.com/news/ag-policy/you%E2%80%99ll-need-veterinarian%E2%80%99s-note
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7. Bird flu dilemma: How do you destroy 3.8 million hens?
Donnelle Eller
The Des Moines Register
April 27, 2015
Destroying 3.8 million egg-laying hens is fraught with challenges.
The Osceola County operation in northwest Iowa, the largest in the nation to test positive for avian influenza, is struggling with several decisions, state officials said last week. Chief among them: how to humanely euthanize the birds and dispose of them.
"It's a huge undertaking," John Clifford, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief veterinary officer, said during a press update last week.
Sonstegard Foods Co., based in Sioux Falls, S.D., confirmed last week that bird flu was discovered at Sunrise Farms, an egg-laying operation affiliated with the company. Sonstegard said Sunrise Farms, near Harris in northwest Iowa, contracted the virus, despite going to great lengths to prevent the introduction of the disease.
Now Sonstegard and Sunrise are wrestling with how to dispose of millions of hens after they've been euthanized, said officials at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, one of several federal and state agencies that have responded to the outbreak.
Full text:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2015/04/23/avian-flu-bird-disposal/26269197/
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