Bird flu that causes ‘terrible death’ found at 2 more Johnston County turkey farms
The strain of avian flu that has now been detected in three Johnston County turkey flocks is “terrible” for birds and could be devastating to North Carolina’s economy, according to an N.C. State University professor.
“It kills the majority of the birds in a flock, and in some cases all of them, in just a few days. It attacks all the systems of the body,” Matthew Koci, a virologist and immunologist in the school’s Department of Poultry Science, wrote in an email to The News & Observer.
The N.C. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday that a Johnston County turkey operation had become the first to record a positive test for the “highly pathogenic” avian flu. On Friday, the department announced that the virus had been found at two additional turkey operations.
Protocols for a positive test require all poultry operations within a 6.2-mile radius to be tested for avian flu. It was in the course of testing at least 40 farms around the initial Johnston County turkey operation that the two additional positives were found, according to the Department of Agriculture.
The samples that came back positive were tested at N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Veterinary Diagnostic lab in Raleigh and as of Friday afternoon had been sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Lab in Ames, Iowa, for confirmation.
In an interview Thursday, Martin said it would not be surprising if there were additional cases in the state.
“Hope for the best, plan for the worst,” Martin said about the state’s approach to the virus. “We have planned for continued operations in the event there are more outbreaks. We are preparing for other flocks (testing) positive.”
Martin announced that a 6.2-mile radius will be set up around each of the operations where the virus has been newly detected. Those areas largely cover an area similar to the one set up around the first operation where the virus was detected.
That area included parts of Johnston, Sampson and Wayne counties. According to the USDA, the counties produced a total of 70.61 million chickens and turkeys in 2020.
North Carolina’s sales of poultry and eggs were tops in the nation in 2020, with $4.19 billion in sales, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“People want to dig a (proverbial) fire line around the infected barn as quickly as possible to try to contain it before (the outbreak) gets too big to control or to try to contain,” Koci said.
Martin said that it’s too early to know exactly how the virus got into the N.C. commercial flocks, but added that the USDA has so far determined that every case in the United States has come directly from wild birds. He said there has not been a case yet of the virus passing from one domestic flock to another.
The highly pathogenic avian flu strain circulating right now replicates much faster than others, Koci said. Each infected bird gives off large amounts of the virus, and any other bird that comes into contact with droppings or other fluids from the infected one will contract the virus.
When birds catch the virus, Koci said, it attacks all of their bodily systems, causing diarrhea, pneumonia, swelling and neurological issues, among other symptoms. Even if a bird survives, it is not likely to make a full recovery.
“Just from a disease standpoint alone it is devastating for all the birds on that farm, and if nothing is done to contain it, it will quickly spread to other farms in the area and region,” Koci wrote.
All 32,137 turkeys in the initial Johnston County flock were euthanized by filling their barns with foam, and the birds are being composted on the farm. On Friday, the Department of Agriculture said birds at both operations were “in the process” of being killed to prevent further spread, with 18,000 birds at one operation and 9,546 at the other.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported positive tests for avian flu in 144 wild birds in North Carolina, starting mostly with waterfowl like ducks and geese killed by hunters in the winter but now moving into birds of prey and scavengers that have been found dead.
North Carolina poultry operators have been on high alert about the virus for months, taking precautions like sanitizing equipment and calling for workers to change clothing when they travel between barns.
“The risk is manageable, or at least it should be, but just requires everyone to be on guard, especially those who raise poultry whether as poultry farmers, backyard producers, or even just as pets,” Koci wrote. “The key is finding positive cases as fast as possible to be able to keep it from spreading.”
The last widespread bird flu outbreak came in late 2014 and early 2015, when more than 50 million chickens and turkeys died, primarily in the Midwest. Those birds accounted for 12% of the nation’s egg-laying capacity and 8% of its turkey inventory, per a USDA report.
North Carolina did not report any cases in commercial poultry operations during the 2014-15 outbreak. As cases mounted, the state actually sent people to help euthanize birds in a timely fashion to prevent the flu from spreading.
“Of all of the states, North Carolina’s probably one of the best positioned to deal with something like this. And hopefully all of that practice and planning pays off and we can keep things to a simmer,” Koci said.
Nations that import poultry grown in the United States also enacted trade restrictions in response to the 2014-15 outbreak.
This year’s outbreak is starting more quickly than the 2014-15 outbreak Koci said, with more than a million birds already euthanized at commercial operations. As of Thursday, 55 commercial poultry operations in 12 states have reported positive tests, including operations in Delaware, Iowa and Maryland.
Right now, Koci added, outbreaks have mostly been “brushfires” popping up one by one on poultry operations. The key is containing the virus to those operations and preventing it from spreading.
“The farms that have it are going to lose their birds, and it’s going to cost a lot of money to clean up and get back to farming,” Koci wrote. “But the farms that don’t have it, if we don’t get it under control and fast, those farmers will lose access to international markets, we’ll have a surplus of chicken here and prices will fall and people will still lose money even if they weren’t affected directly by the virus.”
This story was produced with financial support from 1Earth Fund, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.
This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 5:40 AM with the headline "Bird flu that causes ‘terrible death’ found at 2 more Johnston County turkey farms."