February 14, 2022

Poultry producers in the US tighten safety measures as avian flu spreads

Poultry producers in the US are tightening safety measures for their flocks as diseases experts caution that wild birds are spreading highly pathogenic bird flu throughout the country, Reuters reported.

Indiana recently reported a case of highly pathogenic bird flu on a commercial Turkey farm, which resulted in China, South Korea, and Mexico to ban poultry imports from the state. In 2015, a bird flu outbreak in the US killed nearly 50 million birds, a majority of which are turkeys and egg-laying chickens.

Purdue Farms, one of the major US poultry companies, has suspended in-person farm visits, spokeswoman for the company Diana Souder said.

Mike Naig, Iowa's Agriculture Secretary, said a confirmed bird flu case in the country means a heightened risk for the rest of the nation.

Tyson Foods has increased biosecurity measures at its facilities in the East Coast of the country, which includes reducing the number of trips to farms and more intensive cleaning for vehicles.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it will expand its monitoring of wilds birds along the Mississippi Flyway and Central Fly migratory paths. Experts said wild birds from the East Coast may have mixed with those that fly through the Mississippi Flyway path that includes Indiana and major poultry-producing states such as Mississippi and Alabama.

Bird flu has affected the US at a time when poultry supplies are low because of high demand and labour shortages at meat plants.

Data from the US government showed frozen chicken supplies in the country are 14% lower compared to last year at the end of December, while turkey inventories are 23% lower.

Officials in Indiana are testing poultry farms within a 10km radius from the affected farm in Dubois Country.

-      Reuters