Avian Influenza Detected in Texas Flock

AUSTIN - Jun 23/04 - SNS -- State officials have confirmed a flock of 14 birds in Hopkins County in northeast Texas was infected with H7N3, the same strain of the avian influenza (AI) that led to the depopulation and burial of 48,000 commercial breeding chickens in the county in mid-May.

The small flock, located about 4 ½ miles from the depopulated commercial operations, was immediately euthanized and incinerated. Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) veterinarians now may need to revise the AI disease surveillance plan, and additional testing of flocks in the area will be necessary to ensure disease eradication and satisfy the requirements of interstate and international trading partners.

"This turn of events is disappointing to us and the area's poultry owners, but it demonstrates why widespread, repeated flock testing is necessary during an AI outbreak. This infected noncommercial flock was one of more than 315 in a 300-square mile area that tested negative a little more than two weeks ago.

"Our on-site team had nearly completed the second round of testing the flocks when the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, reported the positive test results on the small 14-bird flock that had 10 chickens and four ducks," said Dr. Max Coats, deputy director for Animal Health Programs for the TAHC, the state's livestock and poultry health regulatory agency.

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