H5 Strain of Avian Influenza in Texas

WASHINGTON - Feb 23/04 - SNS -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture today confirmed that the H5N2 strain of avian influenza in a flock of chickens in Texas is highly pathogenic avian influenza, the first such case in the United States in 20 years.

This is the same strain of avian influenza which has been sweeping southeast Asia and resulted in numerous full country bans on poultry imports. This could cause countries which were only banning imports from states which had cases of H7 infection, expand their bans to cover all poultry from the United States.

USDA is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to forestall any human health impacts from this outbreak. There is no evidence to date of any human health implications of this HPAI virus in Texas.

"The H5 strain can be high or low pathogenic, and the clinical signs observed at the outset of this outbreak suggested that the disease was low path avian influenza," said Dr. Ron DeHaven, USDA's chief veterinary officer. "However, further testing by our National Veterinary Services laboratory in Ames, Iowa, determined that this strain is highly pathogenic avian influenza."

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