United States: The Department of Agriculture has confirmed Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a backyard flock of geese and chickens in Jackson County, United States of America.
More about the news
This is the first time HPAI has been confirmed in Jackson County. According to the USDA, HPAI cases occur frequently in fall and spring because birds flying during the migration process spread the disease to their seasonal home areas.
Oregon has reported three affected commercial poultry flocks and thirty-eight backyard flocks after May of 2022.
About the incidents
On October 30, the National Veterinary Services Laboratory informed us that at least a single pig on a farm in Crook County had been infected with HPAI. The pig had been mixed with the HPAI-infected chickens and ducks, kdrv.com reported.
All of the seventy birds and five pigs on the farm had to be culled down. The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) put the Jackson County farm under quarantine, and a combined team of ODA and USDA personnel had to slaughter all the birds on the farm.
As per the expert’s report, the farm animals never came into contact with the food supplies and also were not thought to be used for the commercial food market.
Actions suggested for the owners of birds and livestock to contain the virus:
- Biosecurity measures can include:
- Exclusion of domestic poultry and livestock from wildlife access, particularly in wild waterfowl cases
- Reducing interaction between different species of livestock, poultry, and pigs, for example
- Wash your hands prior to and after attending to your flock
- Cleaning and disinfecting autos, working tools, or equipment too
- Sanitization of shoes with clean foot baths
- Wearing different sets of clothes when in contact with birds.
The officials have urged that any death or illness in domestic birds related to the avian flu must be reported to the ODA with no delay.