Leake bird flu outbreak is now contained - Philadelphia Neshoba Democrat

By DUNCAN DENT

A bird flu outbreak last week involving the elimination of more than 90,000 chickens has been contained to Leake County, state agriculture authorities say.

The word comes after officials quarantined a poultry farm in Leake County near Renfro after poultry from a commercial broiler chicken flock tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza earlier last week.

State Veterinarian, Dr. James Watson said no new cases have been reported in the state following the outbreak in Leake County detected on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Watson did say they expected more chickens than the initial report of 90,000 affected birds. The number would probably be between 30 and 40 percent higher, he said.

He could not identify the farm or where it is in Leake County, but social media and other reports pinpointed the Renfroe community.

Watson said a roughly six-mile radius around the farm has been notified and is under a higher level of surveillance for further avian flu cases.

About 10 chicken houses were affected, he said, adding the affected flocks have been "humanely depopulated" and that they are working on cleaning the chicken houses before they can go back into service.

A database managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture lists the incident as "active."

A Mississippi Board of Animal Health press release issued Thursday, Feb. 9, said officials have been notified by the Mississippi Poultry Research and Diagnostic Laboratory of the outbreak, which was confirmed on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Samples from the flock were tested at the MPRDL, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, officials said.

The release did not say where the poultry farm is in Leake County and did not mention if the situation posed any threat to neighboring or nearby farms.

The release did say Watson has quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the property have been depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease.

"The MBAH is working closely with federal animal health officials on a joint incident response," the release said. "The poultry industry was notified and put on high alert to increase biosecurity and surveillance for HPAI. The MBAH is actively working with the industry to increase monitoring of flocks statewide."

Birds from the flock have not entered the food system, the release said.

According to the release, hobby poultry owners are encouraged to practice good biosecurity and be aware of the signs of avian influenza and report illness and/or death in the MBAH Online Reporting Form.

Information will be routed to a state or federal veterinarian in Mississippi for assessment. Dead birds should be double‐bagged and refrigerated for possible testing. Signs include sudden death without clinical signs; lack of energy or appetite; decreased egg production; soft-shelled or misshapen eggs; swelling or purple discoloration of head, eyelids, comb, hocks; nasal discharge; coughing; sneezing; incoordination; and diarrhea. A resource for backyard bird health information is online.

This is the second commercial flock to test positive in Mississippi in the past year. The first was detected in November of 2022 in Lawrence County, where 34,000 birds were reported to be affected, according to a database managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

That case was confirmed on Nov. 4, 2022. and was cleared on Dec. 1, officials said.

Situation updates and status reports about ongoing avian influenza activities in Mississippi, along with critical disease‐related information, are posted online at www.mbah.ms.gov. Detailed information and resources can be found on the MBAH Avian Influenza page at www.hpai.ms.gov.

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