The United
States has its first case of avian influenza in a commercial flock – turkeys
owned by Foster Farms in a facility in
central California.
There have
been several outbreaks in backyard flocks in Washington State, Oregon and South
Idaho, but until now, none in commercial flocks.
Depopulation
has begun at Stanislaus County ranch. It was the Foster Farms staff that
identified the H5N3 strain of avian influenza during routine food-safety
surveillance.
Foster
Farms has been hard hit in the last six months by outbreaks of food poisoning
among its clientele and has stepped up its food-safety vigilance.
