Friday, January 15, 2016

Indiana turkey flock hit by avian flu

A new strain of avian influenza has shown up in a turkey flock in Indiana.

The state government has established a quarantine and has ordered the flock destroyed.

So far there are no reports about how many birds were in the commercial flock.

Samples from the turkey flock, which experienced increased mortality, were tested at the Indiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Purdue University, which is a part of USDA’s National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed by USDA Friday morning.


This strain is H7N8. Last year a different strain, believed to be carried by migrating waterfowl, wiped out a substantial percentage of the U.S. turkey flock, resulting in shortages, especially of the heaviest-weight toms used for further processing.