Yuko Sato, a veterinarian and assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine at Iowa State University. The H5N1 now spreading from wild birds is already highly pathogenic, which means it is deadly from the start, said Dr. Sometimes those strains can get into domestic flocks and mutate into more deadly viruses. Migratory wild birds often carry strains of avian influenza and they’re often low pathogenic, which means they don’t kill the birds. It has been circulating for months in Europe and Asia and was found in wild birds in Canada a few weeks ago and in a commercial flock in Canada a week before the U.S. The strain now circulating is H5N1 and is related to the 2015 virus. history, costing the government nearly $1 billion for removal and disposal of infected birds and government indemnity payments to producers for the lost birds. The outbreaks were deemed the most expensive animal health disaster in U.S. The disease caused egg and turkey prices across the country to soar for months, with the cost of eggs up 61% at one point and prices for boneless, skinless turkey breasts rising 75% between May and July 2015. The 2015 outbreak led producers to kill 33 million egg-laying hens in Iowa, the nation’s leading egg producer, and 9 million birds in Minnesota, the nation’s leading turkey producer, with smaller outbreaks in Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The virus can spread from infected birds to people but such infections are rare and haven’t led to sustained outbreaks among humans. and the disease doesn’t present an immediate public health concern. Health officials say no human cases of avian influenza viruses have been detected in the U.S. “I feel positive that we can tackle this situation better and I have my fingers crossed that this will be an isolated case, however, I would hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.” Denise Heard, a poultry veterinarian and vice president of research for the U.S. “It’s definitely considered a period of high risk now that we have a confirmed case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the commercial poultry industry,” said Dr.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |