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A 60,000-bird flock at a commercial poultry operation in Montrose County is being euthanized due to an avian flu outbreak there, and a quarantine order has been issued in parts of Montrose and Delta counties to limit movement of poultry and poultry products and try to prevent the disease’s spread.
The state Department of Agriculture said in a news release that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the detection of the Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus at the Montrose operation, which the state didn’t identify in its release.
The state said avian flu doesn’t pose a food safety risk. It said poultry and eggs are safe to eat when handled and cooked properly, and no human cases of avian influenza viruses have been detected in the United States.
However, it said the HPAI virus has a mortality rate among birds of 90-100% within just a few days, making flock surveillance and disease reporting critical to containing the spread of the virus.
The release said that the State Veterinarian’s office was notified Friday of a “mortality event” at a commercial broiler breeder facility in Montrose County. Samples were submitted to the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for preliminary testing, and the National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed HPAI at the facility Tuesday, leading to the decision to euthanize the flock there.
The quarantine order applies to both commercial and backyard poultry operations in the affected area. It includes an area surrounding Olathe, extending south nearly to Montrose. The order applies to poultry and all other birds, along with their eggs, manure, feed, carcasses, feathers and used poultry equipment.
Under the order, no poultry or poultry products may leave any premises in the quarantine area, or be moved onto any premises in the area, without a movement permit from State Veterinarian Maggie Baldwin or her designee.
Under the order, all poultry and poultry-product producers also must comply with all epidemiological requirements established by Baldwin or her designee.
“We are working with producers in that region to implement measures to protect flocks in close proximity to the infected premises,” Baldwin said in the news release. “Avian influenza has a high mortality rate and flock owners should actively monitor their birds for clinical signs of HPAI, such as ruffled feathers or swelling and purple discoloration of the comb, wattles, eyelids and legs. Anyone who notices any signs of illness or disease in their flocks should immediately notify the State Veterinarian’s office at (303) 869-9130.”
Other signs of HPAI include sudden death without clinical signs, lack of energy or appetite, decreased egg production, soft-shelled or misshapen eggs, nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing, incoordination and diarrhea.
According to a federal Department of Agriculture website, as of Wednesday HPAI has been confirmed this year in commercial and backyard flocks in 29 states. It has been found in 138 commercial flocks and 75 backyard flocks, affecting nearly 29 million birds.
On April 9, the federal Department of Agriculture reported the first case this year in Colorado, in a noncommercial flock in Pitkin County.
The federal government says the disease can infect poultry, such as chickens and turkeys, and is carried by free-flying waterfowl such as ducks, geese and shorebirds.
The Animal Health Protection Act authorizes the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service “to provide indemnity payments to producers for birds and eggs that must be depopulated during a disease response,” the federal Department of Agriculture said in its news release announcing the Pitkin County case. “APHIS also provides compensation for disposal activities and virus elimination activities.”
The state Department of Agriculture is advising poultry owners across the state to review and increase their biosecurity measures.
More information on doing so may be found at http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov. Any illness or death in flocks should be immediately reported to the State Veterinarian’s office, and dead birds should be double-bagged and refrigerated away from human food or other avian products, for possible testing.
Additional resources for bird owners may be found at ag.colorado.gov/hpai, where confirmed cases also can be tracked. A map at that site also shows confirmed HPAI cases in a few eastern Colorado counties, all involving wild birds.
According to the state Department of Agriculture, anyone finding three or more dead wild birds in a specific area within a two-week period or seeing live birds with signs of disease should contact their local Colorado Parks and Wildlife office. Anyone with sick birds or birds that have died from unknown causes also can get help at the Colorado Avian Health Call Line at CSU, at 970-297-4008.
Bird owners struggling with stress or anxiety related to HPAI can call the Colorado Crisis Services at 1-844-494-TALK (8255) or texting TALK to 38255. Farmers and ranchers can receive a voucher for six free sessions through the Colorado Agricultural Addiction and Mental Health Program (campforhealth.com).
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