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Migrating waterfowl make controlling highly pathogenic avian flu “almost impossible”
One of the foremost authorities on highly pathogenic avian flu is concerned the disease will be extremely difficult to control this fall.
Dr. Meghan Schaeffer, a national health advisor and epidemiologist with the SAS Institute, says the last major outbreak in 2015 was eventually contained by enhancing biosecurity, surveillance, and detection.
“But in this particular outbreak the constant perpetuation among those migratory birds is making this almost impossible to control.”
She tells Brownfield detections are already being reported as migration begins across the four major U.S. flyways.
“The USDA and the (U.S. Geological Survey) have all stepped up their detection approaches, and they’re finding it. They are finding it in those wild aquatic birds, and now of course we’re starting to see it in our turkey flocks as well as some backyard flocks in the north-central and northwestern United States.”
Schaeffer says infections are still occurring despite the best biosecurity the turkey industry has ever seen, and one step growers can take is to limit water sources that could’ve been contaminated by waterfowl.
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