New
outbreak of avian flu found in Washington state
Send a link to a friend
[January 21, 2015] By
Victoria Cavaliere
SEATTLE (Reuters) - A third outbreak of
avian flu has been detected in Washington state, prompting agriculture
officials on Tuesday to warn bird owners to keep their flocks away from
migratory birds that have spread viruses from Oregon to British
Columbia.
|
State and federal agriculture officials culled about 120 backyard
chickens, geese and ducks in Clallam County, 125 miles (200 km)
northwest of Seattle, on Sunday after confirmed infections of the
highly pathogenic H5N2 strain of avian flu.
"All bird owners, whether commercial producers or backyard
enthusiasts, need to continue practicing good biosecurity,
preventing contact between their birds and wild birds and reporting
sick birds or unusual bird deaths," said U.S. Department of
Agriculture spokeswoman Joelle Hayden.
The virus has not been found in commercial poultry and there was no
immediate public health concern, federal agriculture officials said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jan/21/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
Most strains of bird flu viruses do not infect humans, although some
strains can be dangerous or deadly.
In December, the USDA confirmed two separate virus strains of bird
flu in Washington's northern Whatcom County, near the Canadian
border, with infections detected in pintail ducks and captive
Gyrfalcons that were fed hunter-killed wild birds.
Earlier this month, the Washington State Department of Agriculture
imposed an emergency eight-month quarantine of poultry and eggs in
parts of Benton and Franklin counties, in the state's southeast,
after the H5N2 strain was found in two flocks of mixed poultry
there.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/Symphony_122313.png)
The virus is extremely contagious among poultry and can spread
rapidly through a flock, killing birds in as little as 48 hours. The
H5N2 strain of bird flu has killed thousands of birds on two
Canadian farms in British Columbia.
Last week, China banned all imports of U.S. poultry products and
eggs following the discovery of avian influenza in the U.S. Pacific
Northwest, the USDA said. All poultry shipped to China after Jan. 8
was to be returned or destroyed, the agency said.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and
Peter Cooney)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jan/21/images/ads/current/christian_village_lda_061014.png) |