To prevent spread of a deadly poultry disease, the Agriculture Department urged bird owners on Thursday to practice good biosecurity and to consider keeping their birds indoors all day. Fourteen million birds in domestic flocks have died in outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) since Feb. 8, when the viral disease was found in U.S. flocks for the first time in two years.
Four more outbreaks were confirmed on Thursday, three on turkey farms in South Dakota. The other case was a backyard flock in Maine. The latest incidents pushed the U.S. total to 14.1 million birds.
“The ongoing outbreak is a continuing threat to bird owners,” said a USDA spokesman. “Bird owners, whether it’s commercial or backyard poultry, or pet or hobby birds, should take some simple steps to protect their birds from the virus. In addition to practicing good biosecurity, all bird owners should prevent contact between their birds and wild birds, and report sick birds or unusual deaths to state/federal officials.
“We also are urging producers to considering bring birds indoors when possible to prevent further exposures.”
Iowa, the No. 1 state for egg production, has lost 6.3 million laying hens to HPAI, the largest loss of any state, according to USDA data. Wisconsin was second, with 2.7 million laying hens, followed by Maryland, with 1.63 million layers and pullets, and Delaware, with 1.57 million pullets and commercial poultry. All told, 10.2 million laying hens have died of HPAI or from culling of infected flocks intended to prevent the spread of the virus.
More than 50 million chickens and turkeys died in a bird flu epidemic in 2014-15. Iowa and Minnesota were the hardest-hit states. Nationwide, losses included 12 percent of the hens laying eggs for table consumption and 8 percent of turkeys being grown for human consumption, according to a 2017 USDA report. “In response to this historic animal-disease event, many destination markets for U.S. poultry commodities levied trade restrictions on U.S. poultry exports, distorting markets and exacerbating economic losses,” it said.
To protect against HPAI, the USDA said, bird owners should practice “biosecurity basics,” including restricting access to their animals; washing their hands before and after contact with poultry; disinfecting their boots after working with poultry; wearing protective garments in poultry facilities and changing clothes when leaving the facilities; and cleaning tools and other equipment that are shared between facilities.
The USDA’s “Defend the Flock” web page is available here.