By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is not going away. The United States Department of Agriculture reports more than 72.5 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds have been killed since the outbreak began in 2022. On Tuesday, Cal-Maine Foods near Chase reported it had temporarily ceased production after positive HPAI tests. The company has reported the virus has impacted nearly 700,000 laying hens, or nearly two percent of its total flock. Alicia Boor, agriculture and natural resources agent in the Cottonwood District for K-State Research, reminds poultry providers to be cautious.
"Poultry farmers need to be very careful - if you can, have your birds indoors because it is transferred from the wild birds that are migrating through," she said. "If you can have them indoors - indoor water sources, indoor feed - so they have a lesser chance. That's the best thing you can do for those animals is to completely isolate them."
The Kansas Department of Agriculture indicated the first positive test in Barton County on Dec. 8, of a non-poultry bird, though no test date was indicated. Boor said for those unable to move birds indoors, disinfecting food and water treys routinely can help mitigate the spread of the virus. Flock owners should watch for symptoms and report any incidences to their local veterinarian so it can be turned over to state authorities. The virus will likely be around for a while.
"Usually, when the birds finish their migration through the area it will calm down again until they start coming back to the north in the spring," Boor said. "It's being transferred more readily because we have so many migrating birds."
Officials believe there is little risk the virus will be contracted by humans. Symptoms among birds include coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, decreased egg production, and soft-shelled or misshapen eggs.