Biosecurity Alert: Avian Influenza Virus Detected

By Gino Lorenzoni and John Boney

The avian Influenza virus has been detected in migratory birds in several states.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is a devastating poultry disease. When infected, most poultry die and if they do not die, they become seriously ill. The natural reservoir for HPAI are migratory waterfowl. Unlike poultry, when waterfowl are infected with HPAI they do not always develop symptoms. In other words, infected waterfowl continue traveling from state to state during the migratory period. It is via migration that waterfowl contaminated with the HPAI virus have already arrived in the United States from other parts of the world.

Indeed, surveillance services have confirmed that HPAI contaminated waterfowl have been detected in Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. While the HPAI virus has not been detected in commercial poultry yet, the presence of the virus in the environment poses an imminent risk for poultry. 

Via this communication, the Penn State Poultry Extension Team urges poultry owners (commercial and backyard) to increase their biosecurity measures. Please consider that the HPAI virus can remain viable in the fecal matter of contaminated wild birds for weeks during the cold season. If you come in contact with contaminated fecal matter, the virus can easily attach to shoes and clothes, ending up on your poultry farm.

In addition to your regular biosecurity plan, make sure to follow these recommendations:

keep poultry away from wild birds (ideally keep poultry inside buildings until the virus is no longer detected in wild birds), clean any feed spillages that may have occurred to discourage the presence of wild birds on your premises, use dedicated clothing and footwear to service your poultry, and keep visitors to a minimum.