Explosion Of Fujian H5N2 In Turkey Farms In US Midwest
Recombinomics.com
April 10, 2015
The above April 9 APHIS list cites the reported farm H5N2 outbreaks since March 4. Unlike the prior reports, which were in the administrative Pacific Flyway and involved H5N2 and H5N8 (including both commercial farms which involved H5N8 infections in California) as well as H5N1 in a wild bird in the US and a backyard farm in Fraser Valley, Canada, all of the above outreaks involve H5N2 in the Midwest.
The current high frequency signals infections by waves of migratory birds which are currently targeting northern Midwestern states. Although various species were infected in backyard farms, all commercial farms involved turkeys, as did the recent outbreak in Canada (near Woodstock, Ontario) – see H5N2 map.
The above list is largely concentrated on turkey farms in Minnesota, as well as adjacent regions of South Dakota.
However, additional data suggests there is a backlog in confirmations / public reporting, because media reports have cited an H5 confirmed turkey farm with excessive deaths in Dickey County, North Dakota.
Moreover, multiple countries have banned poultry imports from three new counties in Minnesota (Cottonwood, Lyon, and Watawon). Since these three counties are not close to any recently reported outbreaks (see map), they represent at least two new infections (Cottonwood and Watawon are adjacent to each other so an infection near their common border could lead to bans in both counties). However, there could be multiple infections in each county or additional infections in countries with reported outbreaks, so those additional infections would not change existing county bans.
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