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Bird flu on 10 IN farms

Almost 120,000 turkeys have been killed on four farms, with six farms with about 121,000 turkeys left to euthanize.

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The affected flocks have been destroyed and testing in the area continues.

The new strain found in the United States, like these previous viruses, is considered highly pathogenic, meaning it is especially deadly to poultry.

An Indiana avian influenza outbreak has led to the euthanization of about 413,000 birds, 62 percent of them turkeys, and there have been no new cases reported since Saturday.

The strain confirmed this morning is different from the one that caused the outbreak previous year; however, the Centers for Disease Control consider the risk of illness to humans to be very low.

Derrer says workers are moving as fast as possible to kill the birds to prevent the virus from spreading. “They will remain in the ground for at least 30 days, after which they can be used as compost material because the virus is dead”.

Bret Marsh, DVM, Indiana state veterinarian, said in a statement that finding the low-path virus is a sign that animal health officials are keeping pace with the spread of the virus in the area but won’t signal a let-up in response efforts.

Farmers also have strengthened cleaning and security practices in a bid to keep out the virus, with many requiring workers to change their shoes before entering barns and barring delivery trucks from getting too close to poultry houses. IN health officials have implemented their monitoring plan, the CDC added. But he thinks it was spread from a wild bird.

Federal and state officials are hoping to contain the viral strain to the 10 IN farms by using quarantines, euthanizing entire stocks of poultry on those farms and aggressively testing nearby poultry farms and backyard flocks.

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The most immediately noticeable impact has been on export markets. Others, including Hong Kong, exclude only products from Dubois County.

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