As of early May, over three million turkeys and chickens had been destroyed in six Virginia counties as poultry companies and state and federal officials worked to contain a large outbreak of low-pathogenic avian influenza (AI) that was first reported in March. Growout houses on 136 farms have been depopulated or quarantined. Pre-slaughter testing was being conducted on all breeder birds, commercial turkeys and broilers, and any flocks with respiratory symptoms.
Commercial turkey is still the type of bird predominantly involved, with 86 commercial turkey farms affected by early May. Twenty-six farms with turkey breeders had been depopulated or quarantined, 14 with broiler breeders and 10 with broilers.
Each poultry company is responsible for depopulation of their flock. According to the Virginia Department of Agriculture, disposal is by one of four methods: on-farm burial; on-farm composting; incineration; movement of carcasses in sealed, leak-proof containers to a permitted sanitary landfill; or movement of test-negative birds to slaughter/processing. Although rendering is an approved disposal method, it is not being used due to the poultry industry’s concerns about spreading the disease by trucks and personnel becoming contaminated.
Permitted landfills have been the preferred method by the Virginia Commonwealth’s environmental agencies. However, when the primary landfill that was utilized at the beginning of the outbreak stopped accepting the birds presumably because the landfill could not handle anymore of this material, the contaminated birds were then taken to a limestone quarry for burning. On-farm burial was only permitted for the very first flock that was detected and no farm has an incinerator large enough to handle a complete depopulation.
One poultry producer indicated that while rendering is not one of the allowable methods of disposing of these diseased birds, it would have been preferable at the onset to waiting two weeks before the birds could be destroyed, during which time the poultry industry was negotiating with environmental officials over a permitted disposal method.
It has been 20 years since the last outbreak of AI in the area. The poultry industry discovered that today’s environmental laws did not permit some disposal methods that were allowed in the early 1980s. The number of birds currently affected is more than the outbreak in 1982-83, which at that time cost the Virginia poultry industry over $45 million.
The low-pathogenic AI poses no threat to human health, nor does it affect the quality or safety of poultry products entering the market.
For an up-to-date status on the outbreak, log onto the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Web site at www.vdacs.state.va.us.
June 2002 Render