Arkansas Gazette
Arkansas chickens exposed to bird flu
BY DAVID IRVIN
Posted on Wednesday, June 4, 2008
A flock of breeder hens in Washington County was exposed to a mild form of avian influenza, but state officials said Tuesday there is no cause for alarm.
The 15, 000 chickens owned by Tyson Foods Inc. were killed with carbon dioxide Tuesday, and their carcasses were expected to be buried on the contract farm near West Fork, which is about 10 miles south of Fayetteville.
State livestock officials and Tyson Foods said the strain of avian influenza — H 7 N 3 — is a low pathogenic and poses no risk to human health. The chickens showed no signs of illness, but the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s policy is to eradicate all H 5 and H 7 subtypes of avian influenza discovered.
“Preliminary tests on the flock indicate the presence of antibodies for H 7 N 3 avian influenza; however, there is no indication the birds currently have the virus,” Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson wrote in an e-mail. The Springdale company is the second largest poultry processor in the country, and slaughters about 39 million birds a week.
Tyson shares fell $ 1. 47, or 7. 97 percent, to $ 16. 98 on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The discovery may temporarily stifle trade for Arkansas poultry processors.
“The U. S. Department of Agriculture, based on a longstanding agreement with Russia, has notified Russia that we will suspend exports from the state of Arkansas for a period of 90 days,” James Sumner, president of the U. S. Poultry and Egg Export Council, told Bloomberg News.
Jon Fitch, the executive director of the state Livestock and Poultry Commission, said routine tests led animal health investigators to conclude the breeder hens had been exposed to avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu. The tests were administered Friday, and samples were flown to a national testing site.
One test showed that none of the birds were infected with bird flu. But a second blood test showed the birds had antibodies associated with the H 7 N 3 strain, which indicated the flock was exposed but defeated the disease.
“The USDA and Tyson are going to test all their birds in a 10-mile radius, to make doubly sure” the disease isn’t present in nearby flocks, Fitch said. There aren’t any commercial flocks within three miles of the affected farm, Fitch said.
The H 7 N 3 strain of avian flu differs greatly from the high-pathogenic H 5 N 1 strain, which has broken out in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
H 5 N 1 has caused 383 human infections and 241 deaths, the Swiss-based World Health Organization reported May 28.
Each year, there are likely 10 to 12 low-pathogenic infections in single flocks in Arkansas, said Frank Jones, associate director for extension at the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
“Low-pathogenic strains are ones that basically cause dis- ease, and not death,” Jones said.
Jones speculated that migratory geese brought this lowpathogenic strain to Northwest Arkansas, and it was spread to the breeder hens by accident.
“Typically these things happen in spring and fall, when we get water fowl migration. There’s been a lot of water fowl that have come through,” Jones said. The breeder hens in question were about 65 weeks old. Fitch said they were considered “spent,” and were scheduled for slaughter Sunday.
To contact this reporter: dirvin@arkansasonline. com
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