- The flourishing Texas poultry market saw its prospects
threatened Friday after state authorities destroyed 24,000 breeding hens
in the second discovery of bird flu in three months.
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- Significantly, none of the chickens at the Pilgrim's
Pride contract breeding farm near Sulphur Springs exhibited outward symptoms
of illness, said Dr. Bob Hillman, state veterinarian and head of the Texas
Animal Health Commission.
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- Routine samples analyzed in Texas proved negative, but
later tests at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa,
showed evidence that the hens had been exposed to a low-pathogenic form
of the H7N3 subtype of avian influenza, Hillman said. The state destroyed
all breeding hens at the Pilgrim's Pride farm.
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- Unlike the more pathogenic strains found in Asia, the
strain found in East Texas was not seen as a danger to humans and does
not affect the safety of cooked poultry or eggs.
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- Sondra Fowler, a Pilgrim's Pride spokeswoman, said the
small breeder facility is 6 miles from the nearest farm in Hopkins County.
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- Hillman said that animal health officials will go from
farm to farm within 10 miles, as well as to facilities with direct links
to the affected farm, checking for signs of the disease. The depopulated
farm will be disinfected.
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- In February, Russia and Mexico -- among the country's
biggest poultry importers -- banned the import of Texas poultry after an
avian influenza was found among a 6,600-chicken flock in Gonzales.
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- Officials initially said the strain was not serious,
but it later proved to be highly pathogenic, Hillman said. No other cases
were found.
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- Foreign bans prompted by the outbreak at the ma-and-pa
operation proved costly -- "probably a $1 million-plus a week for
five weeks," said James Grimm, executive vice president of the Austin-based
Texas Poultry Federation.
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- "The poultry business has been doing excellent with
the fresh market up around 80 cents [a pound]. Exports are good and then,
all of sudden, we have this. Wham!"
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- On Friday, there was no immediate reaction from importing
nations, but U.S. agricultural officials have informed Mexico and Russia.
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- "We haven't been told the outcome," Grimm said.
"We're at their mercy right now."
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- Texas exports about 10 percent of its $1.06 billion annual
production of broilers, he said.
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- Fowler of Pilgrim's Pride said the industry was hoping
that no major ramifications would ensue because the Sulphur Springs farm
is isolated and the birds did "not show any [obvious] signs of virus."
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- The Pittsburg-based poultry giant, the second-biggest
producer in the United States and Mexico, has no set policy on compensating
contract breeders and is "studying" how to deal with the East
Texas farmer's losses, the spokeswoman said. The hens were 52 weeks old,
which means they typically had two egg-laying months left, she said. The
value of the 24,000 birds is a company secret, Fowler said.
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- The relatively small-scale farm has two poultry houses
with 12,000 chickens each. Its output represented "less than one one-hundredth
of 1 percent" of the total chicken flock owned by Pilgrim's Pride,
a company statement said.
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- Ten weeks ago, routine tests at the farm found no avian
influenza, Hillman said. Last week, lab results proved positive but investigators
have not yet determined what happened during the intervening period. The
airborne virus could have been spread by wild birds or by humans who stepped
on chicken litter but didn't clean off their shoes between visits to farms.
The source of the Gonzales outbreak was never determined.
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- Hillman urged farmers and the public to follow tight
bio-security measures.
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- He suggested that people living or working on chicken
farms have a pair of boots for use only on the property; spray disinfectant
on vehicle tires; and either disinfect visitors' shoes or provide disposable
shoe covers.
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- Hillman said that it's been an eventful year for animal
health agencies, which have dealt with outbreaks in Asia and North America.
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- A dangerous strain of bird flu was brought under control
in Asia.
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- In addition to East and South Texas, low-pathogenic strains
were detected in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey this year. In addition,
Canadian officials were working to eradicate an unrelated outbreak of a
highly pathogenic form of the H7N3 virus in British Columbia, he said.
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- © 2004 Star Telegram and wire service sources. All
Rights Reserved.
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- http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/8793119.htm
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