Michigan Officials Monitoring, Taking Precautions, As Midwest Bird Flu Outbreak Spreads
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Bird flu is back.
Although there aren't any confirmed cases in Michigan yet, an outbreak in the Midwest has the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is closely monitoring the situation.
Spokeswoman Jennifer Holton says the department is preparing to respond quickly, effectively and efficiently if bird flu is found in the state.
She told WWJ Newsradio 950's Beth Fisher they're working with poultry farmers and backyard poultry owners to make sure they're taking all the proper bio-security steps to protect the health of their flocks.
"Not sharing equipment, for example, not co-mingling new birds," she said. "For example, you get a new bird, isolating it for a little bit of time before you introduce it to your flock; disinfecting, changing your shoes, not walking through a coop and then walking into another coop."
There are also reports that many poultry farms are closing their facilities to anyone who doesn't work there.
More than 5 million hens will be destroyed in northwest Iowa due to an outbreak there, and there are some reported cases in other states, including Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Meantime, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is working on a potential vaccine in response to the outbreak of the deadly strain of bird flu.
A pure "seed strain" would target the H5N2 virus - which has already cost Midwest turkey and chicken producers more than 6.7 million birds since early March - as well as some other highly pathogenic viruses in the H5 family that have been detected in other parts of North America. If the USDA decides the vaccine is necessary to stop avian influenza, it will provide that seed strain to drug manufacturers.
The process, though, is fraught with questions about which birds would get the vaccine, how it might affect exports and whether it would be effective against the rapidly spreading strain.
According to officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, avian influenza (bird flu) viruses are highly contagious, extremely variable viruses that are widespread in birds – particularly wild waterfowl and shorebirds, with domesticated poultry are also readily infected.
While Holt said bird flu is not a food safety issue, she said consumers should always be sure to cook their eggs and poultry to the proper temperature.
[Get more information from the state about bird flu, HERE].
TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
