Florida prepares for lethal bird flu
Virus is a threat to poultry industry
The bird migration route that stretches from Canada to the Caribbean brings millions of feathered visitors to Florida in the fall.
But this season, agriculture and wildlife officials fear the famous Atlantic Flyway will bring something else: Bird flu.
The lethal strain of avian influenza that has swept western and Midwestern states, leading to the mass-killing of nearly 50 million farm-raised chickens and turkeys, has been steadily spreading east. State and federal officials are preparing for the two viruses involved to enter the Atlantic Flyway and reach Florida.
“The viruses are expected to be found in the Atlantic Flyway later this year,” wrote Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, in a report to the commission.
The risk to humans is considered low, although federal health officials won’t rule out the possibility people could become infected. The primary risk in Florida is to the state’s poultry industry, which includes about 9 million egg-laying hens and 10
million broilers.
The agency is preparing for the “likely” arrival of the disease, he wrote, investigating deaths of wild birds and planning to step up testing and surveillance. Among the steps will be testing birds killed by hunters, testing ones brought to wildlife rehabilitation agencies and monitoring reports of bird deaths for species known to carry the disease, including mottled ducks, teal, gadwall, wigeon, and whistling ducks, as well as turkey and birds of prey.
The Florida Department of Agriculture is holding meetings with federal and state agencies, as well as the poultry industry, to coordinate a response, said spokeswoman Jennifer Meale. The agency has been involved in training sessions and workshops, and has been providing information to non-commercial poultry producers on how to report sick birds.
First detected last December in western Canada, the disease turned up a few weeks later in Oregon and rapidly spread east. Migratory birds such as ducks and Canada geese carried the disease to poultry farms, leaving disease-ridden droppings that could enter barns on equipment, rats, insects or the shoes of workers.
Today, the disease has reached 21 states, including those along the Mississippi Flyway, the route that runs down the center of the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nearly 50 million farm-raised chickens and turkeys have been killed to try to stop it.
Meanwhile, the federal government is preparing for the spread of the disease to the east.
“We cannot predict the future, but the USDA is preparing for the likelihood that highly pathogenic avian influenza could impact all four flyways this fall, and impact both commercial and backyard poultry operations,” said Joelle Hayden, spokeswoman for the USDA. “We are meeting with state animal health officials and industry representatives to develop plans to address the disease, as well as to outline updated biosecurity guidance to help protect domestic poultry. Wild migratory birds, mostly waterfowl, can carry the disease without appearing sick.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says no human infections have been detected and the risk to people is low. But the agency noted a previous strain of bird flu, H5N1, has made the jump to people. The World Health Organization said that disease has infected 842 people around the world, killing 447.
The state wildlife commission is asking the public to report sick or dead birds online at myFWC.com/bird. Additional information on bird flu can be found at myFWC.com/wildlifehealth.