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Avian flu concerns on the rise



MDARD announced last Tuesday that all bird exhibitions will be canceled until Michigan has gone 30 days without an outbreak of avian influenza.

Avian flu, also known as bird flu, is mainly found in wild aquatic birds, but can spread to domestic poultry such as chickens, turkeys and geese. Though highly contagious among birds, avian flu is rarely spread to humans.

In the May 10th press release, MDARD reported that there have been 12 cases of avian flu in nine different Michigan counties. These cases were reported in backyard flocks, not commercial.

While risk to humans is low, according to the CDC, more than 37 million poultry have been affected by avian flu in the United States. If avian flu is detected in a flock, the entire flock is culled.

The CDC also reports that it is still safe to eat properly cooked poultry.

On May 12th, the DNR reported that three red fox kits had died from an avian flu infection, making them the first wild mammals in the state be confirmed with the infection.

To protect backyard flocks, MDARD recommends a series of safeguards including, preventing wild birds from interacting with domestic flocks, washing hands before and after handling birds, disinfecting equipment, not sharing equipment, and keeping water sources separate from wild birds.

Caretakers of domestic birds should watch for “unusual deaths, a drop in egg production, a significant decrease in water consumption, or an increase in sick birds.”

If avian influenza is suspected, contact MDARD at (800) 292-3939 during the day and at (517) 373-0440 after-hours.

The ban on bird exhibitions will affect the upcoming Sanilac County 4-H Fair. Betty Jo Krosnicki, 4-H Youth Development Educator at MSU extension, says that she is working with the 4-H superintendent to brainstorm alternatives to the live bird exhibitions.

This year there are 24 Sanilac County Students participating in the poultry exhibitions.

Joyce McNabb at McNabb’s Chicken Processing is a small-scale poultry processing operation in Carsonville, serving between 300 and 400 customers a season. The majority of her customers are backyard growers raising meat for their families.

Joyce says that though they would never process birds that appear sick, she thinks most of her customers would notice symptoms before the poultry even arrived at her facility.

“We do not process poultry that are already deceased or look ill,” Joyce said in a message to the News. “Since we’re already servicing a customer base that is interested in where their food comes from, how it was raised, what it was fed, etc. they’re invested in making sure they’re bringing us healthy animals to take back home to put on their table.

“Due to processing practices, we already have in place, the dropping off poultry the day before they are to be butchered, it is highly likely we would notice a problem before starting the butcher process if the customer missed symptoms ahead of time. It is reported that the (avian) flu strain will begin to kill birds within 24-48 hours of infection.”

Joyce says that individuals should follow the same basic safety precautions they should follow around any animal: “wash your hands, disinfect your shoes, and change or cover your clothing. . . before interacting with your existing backyard flocks.”

She said, “Different strains of Avian flu have been around for hundreds of years and occur naturally among wild birds. We are less concerned about processing birds as we are about potentially taking something back and infecting our own personal flocks. Basic bio security principles and good animal husbandry practices need to be used like always.”