August 1, 2007

US state of Virginia lifts ban on poultry sales

The US state of Virginia said it would end a ban on live poultry sales and shows Tuesday (July 31) three weeks after the discovery of bird flu antibodies in a turkey farm in Shenandoah County. 

The neighbouring state of West Virginia also suspended all poultry shows and sales for a month after the discovery. Shenandoah County borders West Virginia.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture said the ban was to be lifted after testing of thousands of birds found no signs of the bird flu strain. The 55,000 turkeys in the infected farm was destroyed.

Elaine Lidholm, a spokeswoman for the department, said the testing also included backyard birds.

Virginia's poultry ban forced several county fairs to cancel poultry shows. China has also banned poultry from the state. 

The poultry industry is a major economic contributor in the Shenandoah Valley in the state where about 900 of the state's 1,200 commercial poultry farms are located.

Nearly 5 million birds were destroyed in a 2002 outbreak.