USDA: Industry Practices May Have Helped Spread Bird Flu

Inadequate biosecurity and cleaning practices by the poultry industry probably contributed to the spread of bird flu that has hobbled U.S. egg and turkey producers and led to the deaths of more than 47 million birds, federal officials said Monday.

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a 38-page report that the nation’s worst-ever bird-flu outbreak may be spreading through several pathways, but there is “not substantial or significant enough evidence” to point to one or more specific pathways as the cause. The agency outlined its initial findings after conducting investigations on 80 commercial poultry farms.

 

ndustry and academic researchers have said the highly contagious strain of avian influenza, known as H5N2, is a mix of a virus that first entered the U.S. from Asia last year, combining with North American strains in migrating ducks and other fowl. The USDA report said that while wild birds likely were responsible for the initial cases as they shed the virus in droppings, it appears that some infections resulted from transmission between poultry farms.

 

“A likely cause of some virus transmission is insufficient application of recommended biosecurity practices,” said the report. USDA officials observed the sharing of equipment between farms, lack of cleaning and disinfection of vehicles moving between farms, and employees moving between infected and noninfected sites, according to the report.

 

Source: www.wsj.com