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 The eastward spread of any strain of the highly contagious H5 virus
is worrying to farmers and investigators, who have hoped that warmer
spring weather would help lower the number of infections in birds
and curtail the virus' spread.
The H5N8 strain found in a backyard poultry flock in Indiana is
concerning to them also. It is different from the H5N2 strain that
has been confirmed in scores of Midwestern farms and resulted in the
death or culling of nearly 30 million birds so far.
The highly pathogenic H5N8 strain had been seen only in the Pacific
flyway during this outbreak. Federal and state officials have
confirmed it in commercial chicken and turkey farms in California
and a backyard poultry flock in Oregon. It was also found in captive
falcons in Idaho and Washington, according to the USDA.
How the H5N8 virus moved eastward is not yet known.
"We’re working on the epidemiology, but the new finding of H5N8 is
mostly likely due to a new introduction by waterfowl," USDA Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service spokeswoman Joelle Hayden said
in a statement.
The H5 strains in the current U.S. outbreak pose a low risk to human
health, experts say, and no human infections have been identified so
far.
EGGS COMPANIES HIT
The U.S. poultry and egg industry has been grappling for months with
the biggest outbreak on record of avian influenza in the United
States.
The economic ripple effects are starting to be felt, from baked
goods companies feeling a squeeze on egg supplies to Hormel Foods
Corp unit Jennie-O Turkey Store announcing a planned, temporary
layoff of 233 workers at a Minnesota plant because the outbreak has
reduced turkey supplies.
On Monday, shares of the largest U.S. egg supplier, Cal-Maine Foods
Inc, touched a record high after theflyonthewall.com said research
firm Sidoti & Co raised its price target on the stock, citing better
egg pricing power following a shortage of egg-laying hens due to the
outbreak.
Last week, Post Holdings Inc said that chickens at one of its
third-party contractors, which accounts for about 10 percent of the
company’s egg supply, had tested positive for bird flu. The company,
which said it is analyzing the financial impact of the news, did not
respond to requests for comment.
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OUTBREAK IN INDIANA
USDA confirmed the Indiana test results on Sunday and the site in
Whitley County has been quarantined.
Indiana State Board of Animal Health officials worked with the
birds' owner to cull the 77-bird backyard flock before the final
positive test came back from the federal laboratory, a spokeswoman
told Reuters. The flock was a mix of ducks, chickens, geese and
turkeys. The flock was culled on Saturday.
There have been three strains of H5 identified in North America in
this outbreak.
The H5N2 strain has been reported in Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South
Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. It has also been identified on
farms in British Columbia and Ontario, Canada.
The Canadian authorities also have confirmed the H5N1 strain was
found in British Columbia, Canada.
(Reporting by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
and Matthew Lewis)
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