Low pathogenic avian flu in Texas broiler breeder flock

Low pathogenic H7N1 avian influenza has been confirmed in a commercial broiler breeder flock in Hopkins County, Texas, animal health authorities reported.

Roy Graber Headshot
(Yurii Bukhanovskyi| Bigstock)
(Yurii Bukhanovskyi| Bigstock)

Low pathogenic H7N1 avian influenza has been confirmed in a commercial broiler breeder flock in Hopkins County, Texas, animal health authorities reported.

The case was confirmed on March 9 and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) was notified of the confirmation that day, Callie Ward, public information officer for the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) told WATT Global Media.

According to the OIE report, the case was discovered during routine, pre-slaughter testing and surveillance for H5/H7 avian influenza. The flock, which includes 24,091 chickens, had exhibited a slight increase in mortality and decrease in egg production.

The flock is being depopulated. Other control measures being applied include quarantine, zoning and movement control inside the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Heath Inspection Service (APHIS) and the TAHC are conducting a comprehensive epidemiological investigation of the incident and are conducting enhanced surveillance and testing within 10 kilometers of the affected premises.

The source of the infection has not been determined.

Hopkins County is in the northeastern portion of the state. It’s county seat is Sulphur Springs.

Previous case in the U.S.

With the detection, there have now been two confirmed cases of low pathogenic avian influenza in the United States.

An earlier case was confirmed in a commercial turkey flock in Jasper County, Missouri, in the southwestern portion of the state. That case was confirmed on March 3 and reported to the OIE on March 6.

That case was also discovered as a result of routine pre-slaughter testing. However, in this instance, no symptoms were visible at the time of testing.

There were approximately 20,000 turkeys in that flock. According to OIE, that farm was to be depopulated through controlled marketing. Surveillance of other farms in a 10-kilometer zone, which included a portion of Cherokee County, Kansas, showed no further cases of the virus.

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