Avian flu confirmed at two facilities in Missouri

One confirmed strain is H5N2; the other is still undetermined

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

The Missouri Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of avian influenza at a turkey facility in the state’s Moniteau County that houses about 21,000 turkeys – making it the second case of bird flu in only a few days.

On March 8, a facility in Jasper County that holds around 30,000 turkeys was confirmed with the H5N2 strand of bird flu – a first for the state according to the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Lab. The Moniteau County facility is still undergoing tests to determine which strain it is.

The facilities have been immediately quarantined and remaining turkeys will be discarded and won’t be allowed to enter the food chain. Other surveillance and testing measures are also being implemented.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is also reaching out to any workers who may have been exposed to the virus. So far it is not a public health concern.

The H5N2 virus confirmed at the Jasper County facility is the same that had been found in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Minnesota.

Farms in Canada dealt with the H5N2 virus in December 2014, including multiple farms in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley.

As a result, over 140,000 birds were euthanized and forced the United States, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, South Africa, Mexico, and China to ban B.C. poultry and in some cases, any poultry coming from Canada.

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