Absent For Seven Years, Bird Flu Confirmed In North Dakota

Here's hoping quarantine measures across the state minimize any possible spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) This is the latest update from the Associated Press.

 The bird flu has been confirmed in a non-commercial, backyard chicken flock in North Dakota, the state Agriculture Department announced Wednesday.

The agency said the poultry flock is in Kidder County. It’s the first confirmed cases in the state since 2015, Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said.

There's no cause for public health concern and again let's all be optimistic that the effects will be minimal.  Except of course for this Kidder County flock.

State animal health officials have quarantined the property. All birds in the flock will be destroyed and will not enter the food system, officials said.

But there's insurance for that yes?

Read on for a bit of a US 2022 bird flu timeline

(This update was from March 24, 2022)

 North Dakota's privately owned bird population needs to stay home!

Today the Associated Press is reporting that animal health officials in North Dakota have canceled all shows, public sales, swaps, and exhibitions of poultry and other birds until further notice.

With bird migration in full swing, the domestic flock of birds in North Dakota is vulnerable to the escalating cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).  Outbreaks have been reported in South Dakota where over 85,0000 birds have recently been euthanized due to influenza.

State Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goering adds this-

 

“Nationally, the outbreak has affected more than 13 million commercial and backyard birds in 17 states. Protecting our North Dakota producers, who raise approximately 1 million commercial birds yearly, and our many backyard bird owners is high priority.”

Hopefully, these additional steps will prevent this story from being updated again.

(This story was additionally updated on March 8th)

 Red River Farm Network is reporting that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been found in South Dakota. All birds in this commercial flock will be destroyed. The confirmation came from a poultry flock in Charles Mix County in southeastern South Dakota along the Missouri River.  The river is of course a major flyway for spring bird migration.  South Dakota now joins Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, the Carolinas, and Maryland as states confirming HPAI infection.

(This story was originally published February 10, 2022)

"I think it's not a matter of if it comes to Minnesota- it's when"

So says Minnesota Board of Animal Health senior veterinarian Shauna Voss.  It's only been seven years since around 9 million birds across 110 Minnesota farms were killed by avian influenza or were euthanized to prevent the spread.  The economic impact on producers was nothing short of catastrophic. Now in 2022, avian influenza has been detected in the United States.  Earlier this year it was first discovered in birds in the Carolinas

The Eurasian H5 avian influenza in hunter-harvested waterfowl was first detected by Clemson University scientists then confirmed by federal testing, and the federal Agriculture Department alerted global health officials, according to The Associated Press.

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported an outbreak of a highly pathogenic bird flu strain in a turkey flock in Indiana. This instantly triggered a ban on Indiana poultry from countries like China and Taiwan. Certainly, many more trade restrictions will be put in place and unfortunately, it's also fairly certain many more cases will soon be discovered.  What makes the Indiana discoveries so critical is the state's location within the Mississippi Flyway.  Bird flu doesn't originate in commercial poultry flocks but is instead brought to flocks through migratory birds often through a shared water source. The risk of the pathogen to people is low but it spreads very quickly through commercial bird populations.

In 2015 North Dakota had two cases of avian flu affecting over 100,000 birds

The Bismarck Tribune reports that there are nine turkey farms in North Dakota producing around a million birds annually. But all poultry producers need to be on the lookout for sick birds or a drop in egg production.

“As migration takes place this spring, we encourage producers to focus on biosecurity,” North Dakota State Vet Dr. Ethan Andress said. “Anyone involved with poultry production from backyard birds to a commercial operation should review and understand how the virus could spread to their birds, and prevent the exposure before it happens."

While the numbers are still small, we're all well aware of how quickly a pandemic can spread. For information about biosecurity measures, you can take with your birds along with updates on virus activity across the country simply click here.