Low-pathogenic avian influenza (low-path AI) was recently discovered on a single broiler/breeder poultry farm in western Kentucky, according to a news report from www.lex18.com.
A slight drop in egg production from the flock in mid-March triggered a test that detected antibodies to AI. Breeder flocks are routinely tested for AI and a number of other diseases as part of the National Poultry Improvement Plan.
The farm has been quarantined by State Veterinarian Robert C. Stout. A location producing hatching eggs for Perdue Farms Inc., the company plans to depopulate 20,000 chickens on the farm.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is surveying backyard flocks within a two-mile radius of the farm.
"There is no evidence that any infected poultry are in the human food supply as a result of this infection,” Stout said.
“We will do what is necessary to minimize the disruption to overseas trade."
Low-path AI is monitored and controlled even though it does not present a human health risk, because the influenza virus can mutate to more pathogenic strains.
