Avian influenza found in South Carolina

[Lelilamom]

Pretty sure it's not transmitted by mammals.

I read an article a few weeks ago that stated Cats can get the H5N1 and get very ill from it.

 

[Lelilamom]

I wouldn't be so sure. Correct, mammals can't get the virus, but if they have been somewhere exposed to the virus, (other coop, bird nest, water source, bird poop, etc) then they could theoretically carry the virus for a short period of time. People can spread it, why couldn't' insects, and mammals?

Humans are mammals and humans can get it.

 

[TwoShepherds]

They have wheel washes for incoming vehicles. At the height of the last major outbreak, they had employees park a couple of miles away and shuttled them the rest of the way.

They have shoe wash stations and then a place to take outside shoes off and put plant (meaning the building the birds are in) shoes on - so that plant shoes don't walk where outside shoes have been. At least some people dedicate two pairs of shoes to work use only - one pair slipped on as the person got out of their car (so their street shoes don't touch outside their car while they are at the plant.)

Anyone coming in is expected (in outbreaks, required) to stay away from poultry for at least three days before coming to the plant and to report any contact if they had any.

I don't know if tracking the virus in is the only way it realistically comes in or if it is just the only way that anything can be done about. There already isn't direct contact with wild birds.

I expect the outbreaks are user error of some sort by people or vehicles coming in rather than anything like contaminated food or insects.

It is distressing to think of AI breaching a highly secure facility like the one described, though human error and complacency is also easy to imagine.

I take bio-security seriously (and did even before this outbreak) but I doubt I can match the protocols put in place by professionals with livelihoods at stake. I don't free-range, but I have a large pen that would be prohibitively expensive to roof and awkward to tarp--so I guess I'll take my chances with it. For the most part my kids and I are the only people entering the coop and run...but I do carry in bags of feed that have been who knows where. Should we sterilize the bags, I wonder? Probably wouldn't be too much effort to spray the bag down with some bleach water, but maybe the virus doesn't survive on surfaces long...something for me to research, I suppose.

 

[tripletfeb]

We've been living with influenza for centuries. I think insect vectors would be a known risk by now.

I'm not a biologist. But I am a weird nerd with a lifelong interest in disease. Yeah. I know. Weird.

Viruses are unable to reproduce without a host. Generally a virus will infect a particular species and not cause death. Because killing the host is bad for a virus. It wants to spread.

Spillover events to different species are statistically rare (but more memorable to us). The new host has to be similar enough that the virus can enter a different kind of cell and hijack it to produce more virus. This would be easier between, say, two types of bird. Or two types of mammal as Covid is believed to have spilled over. Insects are way different. And an intermediary vector complicates things...a virus that is already spreading host-to-host is unlikely to change to host-vector-host. Because it doesn't need to, and the risk of death is higher.

It's a scary event. But I'm much more at ease facing a "devil we know" versus an entirely unknown virus. We can think of all the things that could go wrong and drive ourselves crazy. But focusing on changing our actions according to what is known is not only the smart thing to do, but will help us feel better. As always, my opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it.

Voice of reason right here
People like to freak out and panic. Just practice good biosecurity and calm down. Mosquitoes are not going to transmit this, they can't. Neither can other insects

 

[DonyaQuick]

I take bio-security seriously (and did even before this outbreak) but I doubt I can match the protocols put in place by professionals with livelihoods at stake. I don't free-range, but I have a large pen that would be prohibitively expensive to roof and awkward to tarp--so I guess I'll take my chances with it. For the most part my kids and I are the only people entering the coop and run...but I do carry in bags of feed that have been who knows where. Should we sterilize the bags, I wonder? Probably wouldn't be too much effort to spray the bag down with some bleach water, but maybe the virus doesn't survive on surfaces long...something for me to research, I suppose.

Heat and dry kill the virus. With a spray I'd be worried about contaminating the feed if it's one of those big bags with the string closure since that's not waterproof. A small zippy bag like 9-10lb ones could be cleaned with a wipe or something, but for the big ones though I would think it's safer to just empty it into another container for storage, dispose of the bag it came in, and wash hands/change clothes if you're worried about how it was stored.

The oops-boots model of transmission to the big facilities still does bug me even though I will continue to disinfectant-wipe my boots upon exiting my car every time I come back home. I get it that the big places have lots of employees stomping in and out, but they also have the strictest measures by far, so I would still think they'd be better protected than the many backyard people are taking zero precautions whatsoever. Many of us who are actually trying to take precautions also just can't do fancy ones, so we should also be less protected. Yet I'm counting 47 commercial-somethings instances on the USDA list and only 31 backyard ones (not counting that one 1 captive wild bird thing...still don't really know what that means). I'm not trying to sound like a tinfoil hat sort of person but it does bug me. Specifically it makes me wonder how much the conditions of the facilities and/or health of the birds is a factor in this beyond just boot scrubbing.

 

[MadGardener]

Heat and dry kill the virus. With a spray I'd be worried about contaminating the feed if it's one of those big bags with the string closure since that's not waterproof. A small zippy bag like 9-10lb ones could be cleaned with a wipe or something, but for the big ones though I would think it's safer to just empty it into another container for storage, dispose of the bag it came in, and wash hands/change clothes if you're worried about how it was stored.

The oops-boots model of transmission to the big facilities still does bug me even though I will continue to disinfectant-wipe my boots upon exiting my car every time I come back home. I get it that the big places have lots of employees stomping in and out, but they also have the strictest measures by far, so I would still think they'd be better protected than the many backyard people are taking zero precautions whatsoever. Many of us who are actually trying to take precautions also just can't do fancy ones, so we should also be less protected. Yet I'm counting 47 commercial-somethings instances on the USDA list and only 31 backyard ones (not counting that one 1 captive wild bird thing...still don't really know what that means). I'm not trying to sound like a tinfoil hat sort of person but it does bug me. Specifically it makes me wonder how much the conditions of the facilities and/or health of the birds is a factor in this beyond just boot scrubbing.

My thoughts are the chance for human error increases proportionately to the number of humans in and out of the site. Certainly other variables involved here.

Commercial indoor operations likely make for a better incubator. Like a super spreader event.

 

[Folly's place]

My thoughts exactly!
And I do wonder if some small backyard flock owners are ignoring issues, deaths, etc, rather than reporting them. Hope not, but certainly possible.
And finding dead or sick wild birds is chancy, at best.
Mary

 

[Molpet]

My thoughts exactly!
And I do wonder if some small backyard flock owners are ignoring issues, deaths, etc, rather than reporting them. Hope not, but certainly possible.
And finding dead or sick wild birds is chancy, at best.
Mary

I bet a lot of back yard flocks don't get reported.
How many times has someone posted on social media that most of the flock has died. Usually before ai people would say weasel because they can make such a small wound that it's hard to see.
Lots of people aren't on social media, don't watch the news and wouldn't even know about AI.
Some people wouldn't call anyway because they don't want the feds snooping around. Birds are dead and what difference does it make to the owner if they report it, if they don't care about others.... which seems to be the way of the world nowadays.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

My NPIP re-certification testing was back on March 9. Yesterday in email, I finally got the results from the AI testing by the state of FL.

If its any indication, they are testing quickly - my report was generated March 11, two days after samples were taken - but notification is two weeks+ later.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Commercial indoor operations likely make for a better incubator. Like a super spreader event.

That's more what I was getting at, the super-spreader environment type of thing. There's a lot of emphasis going around about cleaning footwear/clothing and cleaning surfaces and tools, and comparatively not much on improving the cleanliness/health of the environment and the wellbeing of the birds themselves. You can scrub yourself and spray down your car as much as you want, but if your animals are in a cramped mess then the passing seagull that had a good sneeze could be a much bigger problem than it would be for a healthy, un-cramped population of birds.

EDIT: with the un-cramped population comment I'm not advocating against pens and tarps to prevent contact with migratory bird poop. I'm just wondering what the interior conditions of these commercial farms are like that are getting zapped.