Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2015/06/avian-flu-scan-jun-18-2015
Avian Flu Scan for Jun 18, 2015
Avian flu goes unconfirmed in Nebraska; More H5N1 in Ghana
Filed Under:
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
[h=3]Avian flu finding on Nebraska farm goes unconfirmed; quarantine lifted[/h] Three weeks of follow-up testing on a big Nebraska egg farm never confirmed preliminary tests that showed avian influenza there, prompting an end to the quarantine of the farm, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) announced yesterday.
The move apparently marks the first time a preliminary positive finding has gone unconfirmed in this year's rash of costly H5N2 avian flu outbreaks across the Midwest. The farm, which has 3 million chickens, is in northeastern Nebraska's Knox County.
"While the chance of a presumptive positive test ending up being negative is very uncommon, we have followed [US Department of Agriculture] protocol and the disease has not been found," NDA Director Greg Ibach said in a statement. "The release of the quarantine at this farm will allow the producer to resume business as usual. Testing and monitoring of this flock will continue as an additional precautionary measure."
Today's announcement also means that 27 other Knox County sites that were quarantined because they lie within 6.2 miles of the egg farm can also get back to business, the NDA said.
The quarantine was imposed May 27 after the positive preliminary test. In follow-up efforts, the flock has been tested every day for the past 3 weeks, and all the results were negative, Ibach said.
Nebraska has had five other H5N2 outbreaks, all in Dixon County, two counties east of Knox. An additional Dixon County farm is being depopulated because of its nearness to the infected farms.
Jun 17 NDA statement
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health (MBAH) said today that a second farm has been allowed to restock with poultry after going through the required avian flu recovery steps. The farm is in Stearns County in central Minnesota. A turkey farm in Pope County had restocked its barns about 10 days ago, becoming the first in the state to do so.
Several other farms are ready to restock next week, the MBAH said in an e-mailed update. In addition, the agency said uninfected poultry farms in control areas around outbreaks in five counties have been released from quarantine. The state has had no new H5N2 outbreaks since Jun 5.
MBAH avian flu information and updates
[h=3]Ghana reports 5 more H5N1 outbreaks affecting 4,600 birds[/h] Ghana has confirmed five more outbreaks of H5N1 avian flu in backyard flocks and on farms that affected 4,669 poultry, bringing the number of outbreaks reported in the country this month to nine, according to an update posted yesterday by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The outbreaks affected two backyard flocks in Greater Accra region in the country's southeast, as well as two farms in the southern part of Volta region and one farm in Greater Accra. The previous outbreaks?reported on Jun 2 and Jun 10?all involved birds in Greater Accra. The south end of Volta abuts Greater Accra to the east, and the affected farms there are near Ghana's border with Togo.
The backyard flocks contained 29 and 40 birds, while the farms housed 1,100, 1,700, and 1,800 poultry. Of the 4,669 birds, 2,591 were killed by the virus, and the rest were destroyed to prevent disease spread.
The outbreaks began from Jun 1 to Jun 8, and the affected premises are being disinfected, according to the OIE report. Before these 2015 outbreaks, Ghana had not reported highly pathogenic H5N1 in birds since 2007.
Jun 17 OIE report
Avian Flu Scan for Jun 18, 2015
Avian flu goes unconfirmed in Nebraska; More H5N1 in Ghana
Filed Under:
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
[h=3]Avian flu finding on Nebraska farm goes unconfirmed; quarantine lifted[/h] Three weeks of follow-up testing on a big Nebraska egg farm never confirmed preliminary tests that showed avian influenza there, prompting an end to the quarantine of the farm, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) announced yesterday.
The move apparently marks the first time a preliminary positive finding has gone unconfirmed in this year's rash of costly H5N2 avian flu outbreaks across the Midwest. The farm, which has 3 million chickens, is in northeastern Nebraska's Knox County.
"While the chance of a presumptive positive test ending up being negative is very uncommon, we have followed [US Department of Agriculture] protocol and the disease has not been found," NDA Director Greg Ibach said in a statement. "The release of the quarantine at this farm will allow the producer to resume business as usual. Testing and monitoring of this flock will continue as an additional precautionary measure."
Today's announcement also means that 27 other Knox County sites that were quarantined because they lie within 6.2 miles of the egg farm can also get back to business, the NDA said.
The quarantine was imposed May 27 after the positive preliminary test. In follow-up efforts, the flock has been tested every day for the past 3 weeks, and all the results were negative, Ibach said.
Nebraska has had five other H5N2 outbreaks, all in Dixon County, two counties east of Knox. An additional Dixon County farm is being depopulated because of its nearness to the infected farms.
Jun 17 NDA statement
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health (MBAH) said today that a second farm has been allowed to restock with poultry after going through the required avian flu recovery steps. The farm is in Stearns County in central Minnesota. A turkey farm in Pope County had restocked its barns about 10 days ago, becoming the first in the state to do so.
Several other farms are ready to restock next week, the MBAH said in an e-mailed update. In addition, the agency said uninfected poultry farms in control areas around outbreaks in five counties have been released from quarantine. The state has had no new H5N2 outbreaks since Jun 5.
MBAH avian flu information and updates
[h=3]Ghana reports 5 more H5N1 outbreaks affecting 4,600 birds[/h] Ghana has confirmed five more outbreaks of H5N1 avian flu in backyard flocks and on farms that affected 4,669 poultry, bringing the number of outbreaks reported in the country this month to nine, according to an update posted yesterday by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
The outbreaks affected two backyard flocks in Greater Accra region in the country's southeast, as well as two farms in the southern part of Volta region and one farm in Greater Accra. The previous outbreaks?reported on Jun 2 and Jun 10?all involved birds in Greater Accra. The south end of Volta abuts Greater Accra to the east, and the affected farms there are near Ghana's border with Togo.
The backyard flocks contained 29 and 40 birds, while the farms housed 1,100, 1,700, and 1,800 poultry. Of the 4,669 birds, 2,591 were killed by the virus, and the rest were destroyed to prevent disease spread.
The outbreaks began from Jun 1 to Jun 8, and the affected premises are being disinfected, according to the OIE report. Before these 2015 outbreaks, Ghana had not reported highly pathogenic H5N1 in birds since 2007.
Jun 17 OIE report