20-02-2025
Bird flu found in Elkhart County
GOSHEN — Poultry farms across the region will now undergo special testing after one area farm tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.
Culver Duck Farms confirmed on Wednesday that one of its barns tested positive on Tuesday.
'It's just one of those things you plan for, you don't ever want to face, but you just have to deal with it,' said Drew Frey, director of Live Operations at Culver Duck Farms Inc.
Frey said biosecurity at Culver Farms was already employed at its numerous locations before the news came but because there's been a detection in the area. Additional testing will be required until the site is cleared.
Frey estimated that the additional security will be a minimum of four weeks.
Purdue Extension of Elkhart County Animal Production Educator Kathryn Jennings said because of the discovery, though, the Board of Animal Health requires a 10 to 20 kilometer control and surveillance zone. Despite just one barn in the area being affected, parts of Elkhart County, LaGrange County and St. Joseph County will remain under surveillance.
Frey said Indiana is number one for ducks in the nation. It is also third for eggs, fourth for turkeys, and a top 10 in broiler chicken production. Fry said the duck industry is often hit harder than other poultry industries because it's a smaller poultry portion of the industry.
'There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of barns,' he said, adding that even though locally it hasn't been a problem until this week, it's always a threat. Already around 6% of laying hens nationwide have been euthanized due to bird flu.
Frey said at Culver, they test duck flocks any time they move them, weekly, for symptoms — loss of egg production, no longer drinking or eating, listlessness, and quietness. When flocks do pose symptoms, they quarantine the barn and test it.
'Biosecurity is to try to prevent it but the big thing is to try to keep it from being spread,' Frey said. 'To be good neighbors we have to practice biosecurity and when it does happen we have to try to keep it from spreading.'
Frey said that while previous outbreaks have been of concern, the concern this time around is that 'it's not going away.'
Maple Leaf Farms Director of Technical Services Cesar Chavez further explained that HPAI has impacted the global poultry industry since the mid-1990s, with this most recent outbreak beginning in early 2022 and thus far, taking out around 150 million poultry across the U.S.
'This particular strain is not mutating or going away real quick,' Frey said. 'And so [with] the wild bird population, you have hundreds of thousands of birds that are carrying this virus.'
While voluntary, the National Poultry Improvement Plan of the USDA is pretty universally followed by anyone in poultry or egg production, with oversight from state and federal officials, and helps mitigate several avian diseases.
The plan also encourages regular testing of flocks and Chavez said only flocks that test negative for the disease can leave their farm and be processed for food.
'The poultry industry's routine avian influenza testing program ensures that only flocks that test negative for avian influenza are processed for food,' Chavez said. 'Any flock that tests positive for HPAI must be euthanized on the farm.'
Frey said the time and money associated with protecting the flock from avian flu is by no means inexpensive.
'All these tests are not cheap,' he said. 'The biosecurity measures that we put in are not cheap.
Biosecurity measures for farms include using disinfection procedures, disposable boots and gloves, safety goggles and face shields, NIOSH-approved respirators, disposable coveralls and head covers, limiting moving of equipment meaning farms may need several of the same equipment for different locations, and general quarantine of not only poultry but also cows. Exposure for dairy cattle is also a concern, so testing of dairy cattle is required before moving and are required to be tested if they are moved across state lines. In addition, random milk testing is performed to protect those who do consume raw milk, even though the Indiana Board of Animal Health does not endorse raw milk consumption.
Jennings said arguably the outbreak coming from a commercial barn is a best possible situation.
'The company has been through this before (during previous epidemics) and they've upped their biosecurity protocol,' she explained. 'Most the times these (commercial) barns, everything is kept separate. Everyone who goes into the barns wears disposable equipment, gloves, boots …'
Frey agreed and said the primary concern right now is for the smaller farms that might not be able to withstand a portion of their flock being taken out by the disease.
'All poultry producers, whether they be commercial or backyard, are concerned about bird flu and the impact it can have on our flocks,' Chavez said
Consumers considering getting a backyard flock to mitigate their costs at the grocery store for chicken and eggs, however, should also take heed.
'Before doing this, they should realize that both commercial and backyard flocks are being impacted by this disease and should carefully research how to raise poultry in a biosecure manner,' Chavez said. 'USDA's Defend The Flock program is a good resource for this. Currently, USDA is recommending that all poultry be raised indoors and kept away from wild birds that can carry the disease.'
Right now, the goal is just to keep the spread contained, a monumental feat given that it's also spread by wildlife fowl.
