Published Date: 2004-06-24 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, H7N3, poultry - USA (TX)(03)
Archive Number: 20040624.1683
AVIAN INFLUENZA, H7N3, POULTRY - USA (TEXAS) (03)
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Date: 23 Jun 2004
From: Carla Everett <ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us>
Source: Texas Animal Health Commission official news release [edited]
For Immediate Release 23 Jun 2004
Avian Influenza (AI) Detected in Small Flock in Hopkins County, Texas
Laboratory tests Tue 22 Jun 2003, confirmed that a flock of 14 birds in
Hopkins County in northeast Texas was infected with H7N3, the same strain
of the avian influenza (AI) that led to the depopulation and burial of 48
000 commercial breeding chickens in the county in mid-May. The small flock,
located about 4 miles from the depopulated commercial operations, was
immediately euthanized and incinerated. Texas Animal Health Commission
(TAHC) veterinarians now may need to revise the AI disease surveillance
plan, and additional testing of flocks in the area will be necessary to
ensure disease eradication and satisfy the requirements of interstate and
international trading partners.
"This turn of events is disappointing to us and the area's poultry owners,
but it demonstrates why widespread, repeated flock testing is necessary
during an AI outbreak. This infected noncommercial flock was one of more
than 315 in a 300-square mile area that tested negative a little more than
2 weeks ago. Our on-site team had nearly completed the 2nd round of testing
the flocks when the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames,
Iowa, reported the positive test results on the small 14-bird flock that
had 10 chickens and 4 ducks," said Dr. Max Coats, deputy director for
Animal Health Programs for the TAHC, the state's livestock and poultry
health regulatory agency.
Dr. Coats said a team comprised of TAHC and US Department of Agriculture
(USDA) inspectors and 2 veterinarians has been stationed in Sulphur Springs
since mid-May 2004, after 2 commercial breeding flocks nearby tested
positive for the H7N3 strain of AI on routine blood tests. The chickens,
which did not exhibit signs of disease, were depopulated and buried, to
prevent potential disease exposure to other birds. The AI virus was not
isolated in subsequent laboratory tests. A 3rd commercial flock in the
testing area, also with breeding chickens, has tested negative for the disease.
The joint state and federal team has worked 7 days a week, first to canvass
the area and issue "hold orders," so birds would not be moved from the
immediate area until all testing was completed. The team then collected
swabs and blood samples from birds for laboratory sampling, explained Dr.
Coats. Tests are run at the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic
Laboratories in College Station, Gonzales, or Center, and samples with
inconclusive or positive results are forwarded to the NVSL for confirmation
testing.
"We will need to retest some of the area's flocks again, in order to assure
our trading partners that all traces of this viral bird disease have been
detected and eradicated," said Dr. Coats.
"Additionally, we will have to change our testing area, as the testing
protocol calls for disease surveillance within a 10-mile radius of an
infected flock, whether it is a commercial or noncommercial operation."
"I want to express my appreciation to the area's poultry owners for their
outstanding cooperation during this trying time," he said. "If our team
continues to work 7 days a week, and the weather continues to be favorable,
we may be able to complete the disease surveillance by the end of July,
provided we do not encounter additional infection."
Texas Animal Health Commission
Box l2966
Austin, Texas 78711
Bob Hillman, DVM, Executive Director
For info, contact
Carla Everett, Information officer
<ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us>
--
Carla Everett
<ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us>
See Also
Avian influenza, H7N3, poultry - USA (TX) (02) 20040609.1548Avian influenza, H7N3, poultry - USA (TX) 20040528.1449
Avian influenza, H5N2, poultry - USA (TX)(07) 20040409.0960
Avian influenza H5N2, poultry - USA (TX)(06) 20040402.0905
Avian influenza H5N2, poultry - USA (TX)(05) 20040322.0795
Avian influenza H5N2, poultry - USA (TX)(04) 20040226.0600
Avian influenza H5N2, poultry - USA (TX) (03): OIE 20040225.0590
Avian influenza H5N2, poultry - USA (TX) (02) 20040223.0579
Avian influenza H5N2, poultry - USA (TX) 20040221.0556
...............mpp/tg/pg/mpp
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