Avian Influenza Outbreak in Tennessee Has The Attention Of Georgia Officials

ATLANTA, GA. - Georgia officials say there have been no reported cases of the Avian Influenza in the state, but they are keeping a close eye on things following the recent outbreak in Tennessee.

“We are certainly concerned for our neighbors in Tennessee and will keep them in our thoughts and prayers as they deal with this economic hit,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black said in a statement released last week. “Poultry is Georgia’s No. 1 industry and we must take this threat seriously. Wild waterfowl can harbor the Avian Influenza virus without getting sick. We cannot keep the waterfowl from coming to Georgia, but we can keep them and this virus from getting into our domestic poultry by practicing strong bio-security.”

Talk of the avian flu has picked up dramatically following last week’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service that there had been a confirmed outbreak of the highly pathogenic H7avian influenza (HPA1) in a commercial chicken breeder flock in Lincoln County, Tennessee.

Prior to this HPAI case, the most recent U.S. detection was in January of 2016 in a commercial turkey flock in Indiana.

HPA1 is known to be deadly to domesticated poultry such as chickens, turkeys, guineas, quail and peafowls, but is no risk to the food supply and poses “very low” chance of human infection, the release said.

Hoping to keep the virus contained, Tennessee officials have placed the infected facility in Middle Tennessee under quarantine, as well as 50 other poultry farms within a 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) radius of the site, while monitoring all flocks within the quarantined area and “depopulating” the infected flock. So far, no other flocks have shown signs of the disease, according to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. The source of the outbreak has yet to be identified.

Nevertheless, Georgia officials are leaving nothing to chance and have begun taking proactive steps to protect the state poultry industry.

“In light of the first confirmed case of HPA1 in commercial poultry this year, we challenge all of our poultry producers to re-double their bio-security efforts,” said Georgia State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Cobb. “We urge our backyard growers to practice extreme caution during this period of heightened alert and consider moving poultry with outside access into bio-secure housing immediately.”

Common bio-security steps typically include keeping your birds isolated from other birds and visitors, keeping everything clean, cleaning vehicles and cages, avoiding sharing tools with neighbors and knowing all the warning signs of infectious bird diseases.

Owners of commercial and backyard poultry flocks are encouraged to closely observe their birds and report any sudden increase in the number of sick birds or bird deaths to the state veterinarian’s office at (855) 491-1432.

The poultry industry annually contributes 38 billion to the Georgia economy, with 102 counties producing more than $1 million worth of poultry products each year, according to the Georgia Poultry Foundation.

»Photo courtesy of the Georgia Department of Agriculture