Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — A 41-year-old man in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu has been confirmed as the first human case of infection with a rare strain of bird flu known as H10N3, Beijing’s National Health Commission (NHC) said on Tuesday. Many different strains of bird flu are present in China and some sporadically infect […] Read more
China reports first human case of H10N3 bird flu
Strain 'not a very common virus'
Risk of human spread of H5N8 bird flu deemed low
Seven people infected but asymptomatic, WHO says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Geneva | Reuters — The risk of human-to-human spread of the H5N8 strain of bird flu appears low after it was identified for the first time worldwide in farm workers in Russia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. A separate influenza strain, H1N1, that emerged from pigs and spread rapidly worldwide among humans […] Read more
Avian flu insurance plan backed for Ontario turkeys
New plan to be mandatory for turkey farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario’s turkey producer organization will get federal support to help set up a new mandatory insurance plan to cover costs incurred in any future outbreaks of avian influenza. Southern Ontario MPs Neil Ellis and Tim Louis on Monday announced up to $559,285 in federal funding through the AgriRisk Initiatives: Administrative Capacity Building stream for Turkey […] Read more
Low-path H7N3 bird flu believed to have gone high-path in U.S.
High-path H7N3 found in South Carolina turkeys
Reading Time: 2 minutes A low-pathogenicity (“low-path”) strain of H7N3 avian influenza that recently turned up in turkeys in the southeastern U.S. appears to have gone high-path. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Thursday confirmed highly-pathogenic H7N3 avian flu in a commercial turkey flock in Chesterfield County, in northern South Carolina. “It […] Read more
Canada, U.S. plan trade zones for whenever swine fever hits
Reading Time: 2 minutes Federal officials in Canada and the U.S. have agreed on zone defense, so to speak, to allow safe trade of hogs and pork products if African swine fever should turn up in hogs in either country. Canada’s chief veterinary officer Dr. Jaspinder Komal and U.S. CVO Dr. Jack Shere said Wednesday the two countries have […] Read more
Missouri turkeys turn up with low-path bird flu
Reading Time: 2 minutes A commercial flock of about 20,000 turkeys in southwestern Missouri has turned up with low-pathogenicity (“low-path”) H7N1 avian flu, marking the first such case in the U.S. this year. The flock was on a turkey farm in Jasper County, about 140 km northwest of Branson. Missouri is on the Mississippi flyway for migratory birds, which […] Read more
Troops to help cull fowl in Philippines’ bird flu battle
Reading Time: 2 minutes Manila | Reuters — The Philippines will deploy hundreds of troops to hasten a cull of about 600,000 fowl, the farm minister said on Wednesday, as part of efforts to rein in the Southeast Asian nation’s first outbreak of bird flu. There has been no case of human transmission after the flu was detected on […] Read more
Philippines reports first avian flu outbreak
Reading Time: 2 minutes Manila | Reuters — The Philippines will cull 200,000 chickens, quails and ducks after confirming the country’s first outbreak of bird flu, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said on Friday. The avian flu outbreak was detected in a farm in San Luis municipality in Pampanga province, north of the capital Manila, which later spread to five […] Read more
Bird flu redirects trade flow of U.S. chicken, eggs, grains
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Global outbreaks of bird flu in poultry have altered the flow of U.S. chicken meat, eggs and grain around the world, adding to challenges faced by domestic exporters and giving a leg up to Brazil, which has so far escaped the disease. Different strains of avian flu have been detected across […] Read more
Top U.S. chicken-producing state sees first case of bird flu
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Georgia has confirmed its first-ever case of bird flu in commercial poultry, its agriculture department said on Monday, widening an outbreak of the disease into the United States’ biggest chicken meat-producing state. A flock of 18,000 chickens used for breeding was culled after testing positive for H7 bird flu, according to […] Read more