Cat Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Look at http://visz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert.php?lang=eng We made the Bird Flu icon status. West Virginia has made their map. It's the low-level variety, but for it to finally show us as "news" surprises me. Back in January, I found other news buried in a report at FEMA, but no news reports anywhere else: FEMA news on midwest low-level flu ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Can't get the link to show this, so I didn't include the link.) 2007-04-02 14:29:06 - Biological Hazard - USA GLIDE CODE: BH-20070402-10654-USA Date & Time: 2007-04-02 14:29:06 [uTC] Area: USA, State of West Virginia, , ( MAP) WATCH REGISTERED! Description: Turkeys at a farm in West Virginia have tested positive for what government officials believe is a low-pathogenic strain of the bird flu virus, the U.S. Agriculture Department said late on Sunday. Preliminary tests indicated the turkeys had a low-pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza virus. USDA officials said they can say "for certain" it's not the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus that has spread through birds in Asia, Europe and Africa. "Every indication is that the virus is consistent with low pathogenic strains of avian influenza, or LPAI, which are commonly found in birds and typically cause only minor sickness or no noticeable symptoms," USDA Chief Veterinarian John Clifford said in a statement. He added the detection in West Virginia should not "significantly impact" exports of U.S. poultry. The samples were collected by an industry group as part of a routine before slaughter, USDA said. The birds showed no sign of illness or mortality. The samples were collected on Friday from a flock of about 25,000 birds that will now be destroyed to prevent the virus from mutating and spreading. USDA did not identify the farm where the disease was discovered. A low-pathogenic strain, which produces less disease and mortality in birds than does a high-pathogenic version, poses no threat to humans. USDA did not identify the In an effort to monitor for bird flu, USDA and the Department of Interior worked with states to collect more than 100,000 wild bird samples in 2006. The testing program detected a low-pathogenic bird flu strain in six states. The latest highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu strain in Asia, Europe and Africa is known to have killed at least 169 people and forced hundreds of millions of birds to be destroyed. Damage level: Minor Affected Foreign Citizen: Nothing information! Not confirmed information! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Likely low-path bird flu found in W. Virginia: USDA Mon Apr 2, 10:56 AM ET Rueters Turkeys at a farm in West Virginia have tested positive for what government officials believe is a low-pathogenic strain of the bird flu virus, the U.S. Agriculture Department said late on Sunday. Preliminary tests indicated the turkeys had a low-pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza virus. USDA officials said they can say "for certain" it's not the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus that has spread through birds in Asia, Europe and Africa. A spokesman with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture would not identify the farm but said it was located in Pendleton County in the east-central part of the state. "Every indication is that the virus is consistent with low pathogenic strains of avian influenza, or LPAI, which are commonly found in birds and typically cause only minor sickness or no noticeable symptoms," USDA Chief Veterinarian John Clifford said in a statement. He added the detection in West Virginia should not "significantly impact" exports of U.S. poultry. The samples were collected by an industry group as part of a routine before slaughter, USDA said. The birds showed no sign of illness or mortality. The samples were collected on Friday from a flock of about 25,000 birds that will now be destroyed to prevent the virus from mutating and spreading. A low-pathogenic strain, which produces less disease and mortality in birds than does a high-pathogenic version, poses no threat to humans. In an effort to monitor for bird flu, USDA and the Department of Interior worked with states to collect more than 100,000 wild bird samples in 2006. The testing program detected a low-pathogenic bird flu strain in six states. The latest highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu strain in Asia, Europe and Africa is known to have killed at least 169 people and forced hundreds of millions of birds to be destroyed. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070402/hl_nm/...stvirginia_dc_4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Charleston Gazette April 02, 2007 Bird flu in Pendleton County not a threat to humans (4:45 pm) The Associated Press Agriculture authorities were destroying about 25,000 turkeys Monday at a farm in rural Pendleton County after detecting a strain of avian flu in the flock. State Agriculture Department spokesman Buddy Davidson said the strain of the disease is not the same that has infected humans in Asia and Africa. "People should not be worried,'' he said. "This should not affect the average person at all.'' Authorities have not released the name of the farm where the flu was discovered. However, they are telling all poultry farms in a five-county area not to remove any "litter'' -- the bedding and manure of birds on farms -- until testing can be done. The affected counties are Pendleton, Hardy, Grant, Mineral and Hampshire in northeastern West Virginia. The flu was detected in the turkeys during routine screening before the birds were slaughtered. Routine tests for avian flu have been done since a 2002 outbreak in Virginia that also affected one farm in West Virginia. Although the birds showed few outward symptoms of illness, they are being destroyed to prevent the virus from mutating and spreading. http://wvgazette.com/section/Breaking/000000375 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Statement by Dr. John Clifford on H5N2 Detection in West Virginia April 1, 2007 “On Saturday, March 31, 2007, our National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed that test results for samples collected the day before from turkeys at a farm in West Virginia are indicative of exposure to an H5N2 avian influenza virus. We can say for certain that this is not the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus that has spread through birds in Asia, Europe and Africa. Every indication is that the virus is consistent with low pathogenic strains of avian influenza, or LPAI, which are commonly found in birds and typically cause only minor sickness or no noticeable symptoms. LPAI viruses pose no risk to human health. “The samples were collected by an industry group as part of routine, pre-slaughter surveillance. The turkeys showed no signs of illness and there was no mortality. NVSL plans to run sequencing and pathogenicity tests to further identify the virus. “This evening, West Virginia officials will depopulate the turkey flock from which the positive samples were taken, which includes approximately 25,000 birds. While LPAI poses no risk to human health, USDA's policy is to eradicate all H5 and H7 subtypes because of their potential to mutate into highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has a high mortality rate among birds. Additionally, all poultry operations within a six mile radius of the affected farm will be closely monitored. “International animal health standards now require countries to report all H5 and H7 detections. USDA will notify the World Organization for Animal Health, or OIE, of the H5N2 detection in West Virginia. This detection should not significantly impact U.S. exports of poultry and poultry products. International standards call for a regionalized approach to trade restrictions and USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service will work closely with trading partners to ensure any trade restrictions are based on science and lifted at the appropriate time. “Because the affected poultry producer participates in the expanded National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP), USDA will provide 100 percent indemnity for all specified costs associated with depopulating this flock. USDA published an interim rule on September 26, 2006, expanding the voluntary cooperative federal, state and industry program to provide indemnity for eradication of H5 and H7 LPAI outbreaks. We will also provide support in the depopulation process. “USDA remains committed to transparency as we monitor for all strains of avian influenza. We will continue to work closely with state partners and the poultry industry in this effort.” http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/content...7/04/lpai.shtml ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So why are they *now* starting to publicize this stuff? To start to get the "sheeple" thinking?? Link to comment
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