156K chickens added to list of poultry being euthanized

Billions were lost in the American poultry industry previous year after a strain of the bird flu killed up to 48 million turkeys and chickens.

Frigid temperatures are hampering efforts to euthanase turkeys at several southwestern IN farms where a strain of bird flu was found.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — In just a few days, a bird flu virus has led to the deaths of more than 400,000 turkeys and chickens on 10 farms In a southwest In county that’s the state’s largest turkey producer. Of the birds, about 62 percent are turkeys while the rest are chickens that were not infected, but were considered to be in “dangerous contact” with an infected turkey flock.

“We’ve had disease before and we’ve come out of it, but this is way more devastating”, Denu said.

The Indiana situation is being closely monitored and Myers says the agency is not calling for vaccinations.

Similar H7 viruses – which share the same surface proteins – have caused problems in people ranging from mild, flu-like symptoms to serious respiratory illness, Jhung said.

In Indiana, the USDA quickly deployed personnel and equipment to assist the state with culling birds and testing nearby flocks, said Bret Marsh, Indiana’s state veterinarian. But he thinks it was spread from a wild bird. Most foreign trade partners won’t import vaccinated poultry anyway, however, since the test for the flu virus makes it look like birds that have received a vaccine are infected.

Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner Carol Comer said the disposal of the hundreds of thousands of birds is a logistical challenge, “The infected birds are being composted on the farm”.

U.S. negotiators have worked with trading partners in the past year to focus restrictions on infected counties or states, instead of blocking shipments from the entire country, said Toby Moore, spokesman for the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council.