USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced yesterday that it has confirmed a second case of highly pathogenic H7N9 avian influenza in a commercial breeder flock in Lincoln County, Tennessee. This H7N9 strain is of North American wild bird lineage and is the same strain of avian influenza that was previously confirmed in Tennessee. It is not the same as the China H7N9 virus that has impacted poultry and infected humans in Asia.
The flock of 55,000 chickens is locaed in the Mississippi flyway, within three kilometers of the first Tennessee case. Samples from the affected flock, which displayed signs of illness and experienced increase mortality, were tested at Tennessee Kord Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
State officials quaranted the affected premises and depopulation began yesterday. Federal and state partners will conduct surveillance and testing of commercial and backyard poultry within a 6.2 mile radius of the site. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is working directly with poultry workers at the affected facilities to ensure that they are taking proper biosecurity precautions to prevent illness and contain disease spread.
NCC’s FAQ on avian influenza is available on Chicken Check In by clicking here.
The agency stressed that avian flu is not a foodborne illness, which means it cannot be contracted from eating poultry that has been cooked properly. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 F kills bacteria and viruses. Also, if a flock does test positive, it will not enter the food chain. Additionally, the risk of humans contracting avian flu is very low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
