Do you have any backyard chickens or other fowl? We recently got an alert from the NHVMA reading: Immediately before Christmas two strains of highly pathogenic avian influenza were found in western Canada, Washington State and Oregon. These particular strains are not pathogenic for people, but are reportable diseases and can be a great problem in poultry flocks – high rates of illness and mortality in affected flocks. One strain, H5N8, has been found in wild birds and at least one non-commercial poultry flock out west. The spread appears to have been associated with wild bird migration and contact. This is a long way from New Hampshire, but with migratory birds involved the distances may not be significant. There is no plan for increased surveillance in wild or domestic birds in New Hampshire at this time, but NHDAMF and USDA are available to do testing on small flocks as has been done for several years. Those who do or have been asked to look at poultry as part of your practices may also keenly aware that there are thousands of small poultry flocks in New Hampshire. If you keep any backyard fowl, please be aware of any suspicious deaths and signs of avian influenza. You can check out more information including signs of a variety of concerning diseases - healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov/
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 21:00:04 +0000
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