Friday, June 21, 2013

USA - Avian Influenza H7N7 - Arkansas Poultry

We have had reports of H7N3 in Mexico, all posted here at Pandemic Information News.  One previous post regarding Mexico is located here.   Now we have H7N7 in Arkansas.  Below is in excerpt from the CDC Website:
From the CDC Website: Three prominent subtypes of avian influenza A viruses that are known to infect both birds and people...

Influenza A H7

Nine potential subtypes of H7 viruses are known (H7N1, H7N2, H7N3, H7N4, H7N5, H7N6, H7N7, H7N8, and H7N9). Most H7 viruses identified worldwide in wild birds and poultry are LPAI viruses. H7 virus infection in humans is uncommon, but has been documented in persons who have direct contact with infected birds, especially during outbreaks of H7 virus among poultry. Illness in humans may include conjunctivitis and/or upper respiratory tract symptoms. In humans, LPAI (H7N2, H7N3, H7N7) virus infections have caused mild to moderate illness, and HPAI (H7N3, H7N7) virus infections have caused mild to severe and fatal illness.

Yesterday, ProMED posted:

AVIAN INFLUENZA (71): USA (ARKANSAS) POULTRY, LPAI H7N7
*******************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org

Date: Wed 19 Jun 2013
Source: KFSM, 5 News [summ., edited]
http://5newsonline.com/2013/06/18/scott-county-chicken-infected-with-bird-flu-poultry-quarantined/


A Scott County chicken has tested positive for avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, according to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission.

The commission received confirmation of the positive test Tuesday night [18 Jun 2013] and has quarantined all poultry within a 6.2-mile [10 km] radius of the chicken house facility where the infected bird was located, according to a statement from Governor Mike Beebe's office.

The positive test poses no public health threat, and bird flu (H7N7) cannot be transmitted to people "through the consumption of properly prepared poultry," according to the statement, although bird flu can be spread to people, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The commission is coordinating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on response and additional testing, according to the governor's office.

[Byline: Shain Bergan]

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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>

[ProMED-mail thanks David D Caveny who submitted the same report.

This particular strain of the virus is regarded as low pathogenic. The commission is clearly acting to try and prevent any spread of the virus. However, the article does not mention any type of decontamination for personnel leaving the facility. It is important for workers not to pass the virus to back yard flocks. It is equally important to determine the source of the virus. Hopefully, as the commission conducts their investigation, they will not discover that the virus was tracked in from a back yard flock or from avian athletes.

Even low pathogenic strains of a virus can cause trade barriers to go into place from trading partners that are concerned.

The state of Arkansas can be located on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at http://healthmap.org/r/7neY. Scott County in Western Arkansas can be seen on the map at http://geology.com/county-map/arkansas.shtml. - Mod.TG]

http://www.promedmail.org/direct.php?id=20130620.1782674

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