A highly contagious strain of bird flu has infected a commercial
turkey flock in Arkansas, one of the biggest poultry-producing
states, federal officials confirmed Wednesday.
Samples from the flock of 40,020 turkeys have been "confirmed as
H5N2 highly pathogenic avian influenza," said Ed Curlett, a
spokesman for the U.S. Agriculture Department.
State officials quarantined the premises, and birds on the
property will be depopulated to prevent meat from infected animals
entering the food supply chain, and to prevent further spread of
the virus, the USDA said in a statement. The turkey producer wasn't
identified by the USDA.
The discovery in Arkansas comes amid broader concerns about the
prospect of the H5N2 virus strain entering the top U.S. states for
commercial production of poultry and egg products, after cases of
the disease were identified in neighboring Missouri this week.
Georgia and Alabama process the largest number of broiler chickens
in the U.S., and Minnesota, Arkansas, and Virginia produce the most
turkey meat.
Arkansas is the third-largest producer of chickens and
second-largest turkey processor, and is home to Tyson Foods Inc.,
the nation's biggest meatpacker by sales. Tyson Foods and Cargill
Inc., which owns a turkey business in the state, said that company
flocks had not been affected by the viruses.
Since December, the USDA has confirmed the highly pathogenic
strain in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Minnesota and
Missouri, infecting commercial poultry processors including Foster
Farms.
In January, China banned imports of all U.S. poultry and eggs
following the detection of the virus in noncommercial flocks
including wild and so-called backyard birds, joining over 20
countries that had already imposed restrictions on imports of
poultry products from certain U.S. counties, states or the entire
country.
Write to Kelsey Gee at kelsey.gee@wsj.com
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