A commercial poultry farm in Nebraska will wipe out 570,000 broilers after a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Better known as bird flu, it was found in the flock. Nebraska Department of Agriculture reported.The department said that bird flu was detected in a backyard flock in Merrick County and wild geese in Lincoln, Cedar, and Douglas counties earlier. News release. The wild geese case in Lincoln was the first case of bird flu in the state. Since 2015.
“The confirmation of HPAI at a second farm in Nebraska is unfortunate but not entirely unexpected,” NDA Director Steve Wellman said in a press release. “The NDA will use all resources at our disposal in coordination with our federal partners to respond quickly.”
The Department of Agriculture placed a commercial farm in Butler County under quarantine, noting a higher-than-usual number of deaths. The department has established a 6.2-mile control zone around the farm. This means that poultry inside the site cannot be moved without government permission.
The agency said the birds “rendered harmless and disposed of in due course.””HPAI symptoms in poultry include decreased water intake; lack of energy and appetite; decreased egg production or soft-shelled eggs, malformed eggs; nasal discharge, coughing, sneezing; lack of coordination; and diarrhea. HPAI can also cause sudden death in birds even if they have no other symptoms. HPAI can survive for several weeks in a polluted environment,” the Department of Agriculture said.
Associated Press said more than 13 million chickens and turkeys in at least 8 states have been culled or will soon be culled due to bird flu. The first case was in a commercial turkey flock in Indiana this year.
