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No cases of avian flu since early summer

The executive director of the Minnesota Turkey Growers says although there haven’t been any new cases of avian influenza in the U.S. since early summer, the poultry industry remains on high alert.

Steve Olson tells Brownfield there are a few theories as to why the last case of avian flu occurred in mid-June.

“One of those theories is that the birds, when they leave Minnesota, tend to leave quicker than when they come up.  And when they come up, they go as far as where it’s warm and then stop for awhile.  When it gets warmer up north, then they continue.  So they kind of do it in phases; but when they leave they tend to leave more en masse and hopefully that’s a factor.”

Olson says it’s also possible that as more wild birds get exposed to avian flu, they build immunity and won’t shed the virus.

He also gives much of the credit to producers.

“We need to better understand this virus, but we also realize that there are things we can and can’t control.  So the growers have been focused on controlling what they can control, and have looked at their farming operations and worked with veterinarians and other experts in biosecurity.”

Olson says waterfowl from different flyways intermingled this summer and that continues to be a concern for areas that haven’t been affected by avian flu.

“As they move down the Mississippi Flyway and ultimately down to Mexico where they winter, they combine with birds from other flyways.  So that’s where we think that some of the intermingling and transmission of disease could have a back-and-forth.”

Much of the U.S. broiler production comes from states in the Atlantic and Eastern Flyways and Olson says as migration continues, that will continue to be of great concern.