KENAI, Alaska (AP) - The largest avian influenza outbreak to hit the poultry industry in history has spread across the lower 48 U.S. states and Canada, but Alaskan flocks have not yet been affected.
“The active surveillance in Alaska has not identified any outbreaks in domestic or wild birds so far,” Alaska State Veterinarian Robert Gerlach told the Peninsula Clarion (https://bit.ly/1Caorkz ). But he cautions that farmers should take care to prevent the virus from infecting the state’s birds.
Outside of Alaska, nearly 50 billion laying hens, turkeys and pullets have either been killed by the outbreak or slaughtered to prevent further transmission, according to Gerlach. Pullets are hens bred to lay eggs but not yet old enough to do so.
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Wild birds that have contracted the avian flu in Canada or the lower 48 could spread the disease to Alaska. To prevent a local outbreak, Gerlach says poultry farmers should be careful to keep their animals clean at the large agricultural fairs coming up at the end of the summer.
The Kenai Peninsula will not experience a massive loss because there are no local large-scale operations, according to Amy Seitz, Alaska Farm Bureau’s executive director for the Kenai branch.
But Steitz says an infected wild bird landing in a backyard flock has the potential to wipe out the entire stock.
The state veterinarian’s office issued a few quarantines for flocks that had suspected outbreaks or exposure to infected birds, but they were ended when avian influenza tests came up negative, said Gerlach.
He says to call a veterinarian and seek a diagnosis immediately for any birds suspected to be ill.
“The bottom line is that this is a complicated problem,” Gerlach said. “If it were easy the outbreak would have been controlled right away.”
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Information from: (Kenai, Alaska) Peninsula Clarion, https://www.peninsulaclarion.com
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