Avian Influenza Identified In Wild Birds in Whatcom County

Avian Influenza Identified In Wild Birds in Whatcom County

Avian Influenza Identified In Wild Birds in Whatcom County

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

A Town Hall meeting was held last night by the WSDA to discuss avian influenza and the steps poultry owners should be taking to protect their birds after two separate virus strains were identified in wild birds in Whatcom County. Kent Catlin, Deputy Director of Emergency Management with the Whatcom County Sheriff Department comments.

CATLIN: We had the HPAI H5N2 in a northern pintail duck and an HPAI H5N8 in a captive falcon that was fed some wild birds.

In British Columbia over 233 thousand domestic birds have been infected with a strain of avian influenza.

CATLIN: There's no reports of avian influenza in domestic poultry populations in Washington state. Washington state poultry remains a safe and quality food source. I think for most folks it's a little bit confusing based on what's happening up in Canada where it's the reverse situation in Abbotsford, British Columbia where they have a different strain of the virus that is impacting their poultry production.

The WSDA and the USDA are working jointly in additional testing and surveillance of birds in the Whatcom County area.

CATLIN: There's WSDA and USDA sites that folks can go to to find information about signs and symptoms of the avian flu. If folks go to our website www.whatcomready.org we have links to those USDA and WSDA websites. Also there's some phone numbers folks can call if they think that their poultry or their wild birds have been impacted by the virus.

That's Washington Ag Today.

I'm Lacy Gray with the Ag Information Network of the West.

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