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Plans in place as fall migration begins

Ohio is gearing up for a potential outbreak of avian influenza like other poultry producing states.

State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Forshey says with the fall migration of waterfowl underway, the state hopes the plans developed over the summer will be enough.

“I don’t think anyone can be prepared for this, you can say they’re prepared, but we’ve done a pretty good job I think of getting our plan in place and figuring it all out, at least for now,” said Forshey.

Dr. Forshey tells Brownfield the emphasis continues to be on biosecurity for individual producers and the overall poultry industry.

“The key about biosecurity is it only takes one small mistake to blow the whole program,” said the State Veterinarian. “So every day, every hour they have to be very diligent and have biosecurity on their mind.”

Forshey says until more is known about the fall migration and its impact, no decision has been made about poultry shows at county fairs in 2016.

Audio: Dr. Tony Forshey, State Veterinarian, Ohio