DEVELOPING SITUATION
United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the pathogenicity of eight of the nine avian influenza detections announced on Saturday. The department says eight flocks have been confirmed as low pathogenic avian influenza, with additional testing ongoing for the ninth.
The USDA says there were no new positive tests overnight, but aggressive testing continues inside the 10-km control area. In the last 24 hours, commercial farms have yielded an additional 100 negative tests for avian influenza.
State and federal teams have visited 503 residences in the control area to identify any small flocks for testing. Tests are pending on 17 small flocks.
Confirmed cases of Avian Flu have been found in Dubois County. State, local and federal agencies are working together on containment and depopulation operations.
An estimated 119,500 birds have been humanely euthanized on four premises, with another six premises containing approximately 121,400 birds currently underway. The control area is primarily in Dubois County, and has expanded to include parts of Crawford, Daviess, Martin and Orange counties. All infected sites are in Dubois County.
STATE RESPONSE
A Unified Incident Command Post (UCP) has been established in Jasper. The post is staffed by a state Incident Management Team, along with federal and local partners.
Now State Agencies supporting activities in the Unified Command Post include the State Board of Animal Health, Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indiana State Department of Health, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Indiana Department of Correction, Indiana State Police and mental health services teams from the Family and Social Services Administration.
Other organizations supporting activities in the Command Post include: the United States Department of Agriculture, Indiana University, Dubois County Emergency Management Agency and Dubois County Health Department and the Indiana Civil Air Patrol.
State Emergency Operations Center: Under the leadership of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and the Indiana Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been activated at Level III and will remain activated 24 hours a day to monitor conditions and provide resource support to local county emergency agencies.
FEDERAL RESPONSE
The United States Department of Agriculture has approximately 50 representatives, along with private contractors, in Dubois County assisting with state and local efforts. A National Incident Management Team will be arriving in Indiana this weekend to help coordinate efforts.
PUBLIC ADVISORIES
State officials say avian influenza does not present a food safety risk as poultry and eggs are safe to eat. Officials are not aware of any public health significance with this virus.
Backyard poultry owners are encouraged to be aware of the signs of avian influenza and report illness and/or death to the USDA Healthy Birds Hotline at 866-536-7593.
Callers will be routed to a state or federal veterinarian in Indiana for a case assessment. They say dead birds should be double-bagged and refrigerated for possible testing.
Situation updates and status reports about ongoing avian influenza activities, along with critical disease-related information, will be posted online at: www.in.gov/boah/.
Users may subscribe to email updates on a link at that page.
