February 12, 2004

 

 

US Poultry Industry Under Bird Flu Threat

 

The United States' multi billion-dollar poultry industry under severe threat following the discovery of the second bird flu case, officials have warned. Although the flu virus is unlikely to spread to humans, many countries have already imposed bans on the country's poultry.

 

China and Brazil have joined countries including Japan and South Korea and banned all US poultry imports. Russia, the biggest buyer of US birds, has scaled back its purchases. The US's total poultry exports are valued at more than $1.7bn a year.

 

According to Richard Lobb, a spokesman for the National Chicken Council, the "timeframe for restoring normal trade relations has lengthened a bit because of this second flock".

 

Delaware, the US state where the latest infections were found, is expected to take the brunt of the impact. Michael Scuse, Delaware's agriculture secretary, described the outbreak as a "serious situation" for the region's poultry industry.

 

Together with trading partners Virginia and Maryland, Delaware accounts for about 10% of the US's total annual output. On its own, it produces about 4%.

 

Officials and producers will now be hoping that they have contained the outbreak.

 

The Chicken Council's Lobb said that the impact of the bans are likely to be short-lived as long as the outbreak does not spread.

 

Authorities have been quick to act, culling the infected birds and placing an immediate ban on the sale of live chickens in the state, and cancelling auctions of farm equipment.

 

In the area surrounding the outbreak, about 80 farms have been quarantined and tests on chickens will be carried out every 10 days.

 

The infected birds were found in a commercial flock of chickens in northern Sussex county, Delaware, about eight kilometres from the first case.