February 10, 2004

 

 

US Poultry Ban To End Within Weeks

 

The United States does not see the Asian ban on American poultry lasting for than a few weeks as officials are set to confirm that the bird flu outbreak in Delaware has been contained.

 

The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Monday the bird flu virus that forced the slaughter of 12,000 chickens at a Delaware farm was not the same strain as the virus that has killed 19 people and decimated poultry in 10 Asian nations.

 

The Delaware virus was a strain of the H7 virus, which is not transmissible to humans, government officials said.

 

"There is no evidence the H7 virus in Delaware is infectious to people," USDA's Chief Veterinarian Ron DeHaven told reporters. "Because it's an H7, that clarifies that this situation is completely unrelated to the H5N1 avian influenza that is currently being seen in Asia."

 

Japan and South Korea, which are among the 10 Asian countries affected by the much more dangerous H5N1 virus, temporarily banned all U.S. poultry shipments.

 

Russia, the top buyer of American poultry, said on Monday it would suspend poultry products only from Delaware.

 

The USDA said it expected countries to follow Russia's example and restrict their trade bans to Delaware after tests confirm the Delaware virus is a low-risk strain.

 

"In the past, when we have demonstrated that the outbreak is isolated, countries opened to imports from areas that are AI free," a USDA spokeswoman said, referring to avian influenza.

 

The United States exports about 15 percent of its chicken production, earning some $2 billion a year in revenue.

 

Initial tests showed the outbreak had not spread.

 

"There was no indication at this point that the avian influenza in question has infected any poultry flock beside the one that was eliminated on Saturday," said Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner.

 

Tests for avian flu at five poultry farms within a two-mile radius of the infected flock in Delaware showed no signs of the disease, a state official said on Monday. The farms were among 12 that state veterinarians were checking.

 

Soybean and soy oil futures traded in Chicago rose sharply, despite worries about reduced feed demand due to bird flu in Asian poultry, because of growing Chinese demand for soyoil.

 

On Monday, the soybean contract for March delivery closed at $8.47-1/2 per bushel, up 7-1/2 cents. Soyoil for March delivery settled up 0.80 cent at 31.46 cents per pound after hitting a 15-year high of 31.51 cents per pound.

 

The infected Delaware farm sold its live chickens to markets in New York, the USDA said. That makes it likely that the virus strain is the same low-risk H7N2 virus that has been found in the Northeast for several years.

 

Industry officials said it could take USDA a few weeks to confirm that the strain was a low-risk one.

 

"If precedent holds, this will go on for a couple of weeks until we can get tests back from the national laboratory confirming that it's an H7 (virus) and that it is low pathogenic," said Richard Lobb, spokesman for the National Chicken Council. Then state and USDA officials "will show the importing countries that they have taken the necessary steps to control the outbreak," he said.

 

Delaware produces about 1.5 billion pounds of poultry, or about 4 percent of annual U.S. chicken production.

 

The 12,000 chickens destroyed last weekend will not leave the farm and will be composted.

 

A mild strain of the virus in Virginia in 2002 forced 4.7 million birds to be destroyed. The United States has not had an outbreak of a highly pathogenic bird flu since the mid-1980s.