Suspect Arizona avian influenza cases test negative

Suspected cases of avian influenza in Arizona have testednegative for the virus, according to Arizona State Veterinarian PerryDurham.

Suspected cases of avian influenza in Arizona have tested negative for the virus, according to the Arizona state veterinarian Perry Durham.

Durham and other Arizona Department of Agriculture officials had been on alert since it was reported in mid-June that four shipments of birds and eggs from an Iowa farm that later tested positive for avian influenza had been received in Arizona. The shipments arrived in Arizona’s Santa Cruz, Yavapai, Pinal and Mohave counties.

In his blog, Roaming the Range, Durham stated that in Mohave County, all birds tested negative, and the farm is doing virus isolation testing to ensure no latent infection is present. He adds that rarely will samples that are negative on screening tests show a positive result on virus isolation, but it is possible. 

Durham also stated that eggs sent to Yavapai County were seized and destroyed. Chicks shipped to Pinal County were euthanized, and eggs shipped to Santa Cruz County were taken to Mexico.

Quarantines in all four Arizona counties remain in place.

While four states that border Arizona have had at least one case of avian influenza, Arizona has not had any cases to date.

To track confirmed cases of the North American avian influenza outbreak, see WATTAgNet's avian influenza tracker map and bookmark the avian influenza update page for news about and analysis of avian influenza.

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