US Bird Flu Cases at 26 Million Ails Poultry Producers

This might already be the worst case scenario for poultry producers as numerous of them are stuck with thousands of dead chicken in their farm for several weeks attracting more flies and the smell is getting worse and worse each day.

Taking Control Over the Outbreak

The Sheldon area alone in Sibley Iowa has dozens of similar problems because of the ever increasing outbreak. One farm was hit with avian influenza and ailed 100,000 chickens in April this year. The state agencies are incompetent in solving and scenario is worse, while one morning when they concluded a meeting on deciding how to come out of it,it went in vain with no real out come’. ‘The one had a plan, another had another plan’ .

Frustrations are poured on meetings insanely, Rock Rapids and Sioux Centre. One of the concerns include the efforts in disposing the infected chickens, federal payments that are also stalled, very slow moving crew to remove the infected birds, and the decontamination efforts. In order to literally contain the deadly virus, more than 25 million birds, ducks, turkeys and chickens were killed. The fast moving virus has already hit about 63 commercial and simple backyard flocks as well.

Representative Steve King of the r-Iowa already declared a National disaster, the disease already struck over 40 million birds in the US alone, and majority of aids are actually located in Iowa and Minnesota. King said, ‘nobody ever expected or even anticipated a disaster of this level’. Solutions are just visions, and everyone has been trying to get one against this unprecedented outbreak.

One of the big questions raised and the producers have been facing is when to determine the possibility of filling the facility with birds again, and the measures to make sure that there is no infection anymore once it is done and businesses are operating again. Yet another question raised is the reimbursement of the euthanized birds in order to contain the infection. The agency had funds of over 413 million US dollars to pay the producers for the efforts that they have been doing to dispose, clean and disinfect.

The state itself had struggles in disposing the birds for some landfills do not accept them because of the infection. They had concerns with the nearby farms around the landfill as well. Incineration and compost burying might be one of the solutions that they are looking into.

The problem is ending soon said Northey. A certain landfill in the northwest of Iowa and another one in the southwest agreed to accept the birds while a huge incinerator is now being moved into the state to dispose the birds.