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US Farm Culls 1,8 Million Chickens After Bird Flu Outbreak
US farm culls 1,8 million chickens after bird flu outbreak
By Elizabeth Schroeder | 22 July 2024 | 7:00 pm
Almost 1,8 million chickens in Colorado in the US were culled following a serious outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza on a commercial layer farm, prompting authorities there to declare a disaster emergency.
Agriculturedive.com reported that this outbreak in Weld County in north-east Colorado was the largest in the state since 2022.
As the state’s largest agricultural county, with about 850 000ha of land dedicated to farming and raising livestock, the county was also the leader in dairy production, the report stated.
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According to Agriculture Dive, the disaster declaration would unlock state resources “necessary to help affected poultry facilities respond to and contain outbreaks”.
The state veterinarian also issued a quarantine order for parts of Weld County to restrict the movement of birds and poultry in and out of the county, a release issued by the state said.
Since 2022, highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, or bird flu as it is commonly known, had infected two humans in the county, in addition to a wide range of animals and birds.
“A Colorado farmworker was treated for bird flu earlier this month in the nation’s fourth case tied to the spread from dairy cattle to humans,” the report said.
The Colorado School of Public Health further reported that the state had the highest incidence of bird flu cases identified on dairy farms than any other state in the US, with almost one quarter of diary operations reporting the virus.
Colorado ranked 13th in the country in terms of milk production, and data from the US Department of Agriculture indicated that 27 herds in the state had tested positive for the virus.
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However, officials stressed that the risk to the public remained low as there was still no evidence of human-to-human transmission, the report added.
“Avian flu viruses are currently spreading among animals, but they are not adapted to spread from person to person,” a statement by Dr Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said.
“Right now, the most important thing to know is that people who have regular exposure to infected animals are at increased risk of infection and should take precautions,” she added.
Since March this year, bird flu has been reported in dairy cows in 12 US states, while almost 100 million birds had been culled in 48 states since 2022.
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