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Commentary
Fujian H5N2 Reporting Delays Raise Concerns
Recombinomics Commentary
April 14, 2015 10:30
WI Jefferson Mississippi Commerce Chickens H5N2 April 11
ND Dickey Central Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 11
MN Kandiyohi Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 11
SD McCook Central Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 10
SD McPherson Central Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 10
MN Cottonwood Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 9
MN Lyon Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 9
MN Stearns Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 9
MN Watonwan Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 9
SD Kingsbury Central Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 8
MN Meeker Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 8
MN Kandiyohi Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 7
MN Kandiyohi Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 4
MN Stearns Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 4
MT Judith Basin Central Backyard Mixed H5N2 April 2
MN Stearns Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 2
SD Beadle Central Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 1
MN Nobles Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 April 2
MN Stearns Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 March 28
MN Lac Qui Parle Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 March 27
KS Leavenworth Central Backyard Mixed H5N2 March 13
AR Boone Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 March 11
MO Moniteau Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 March 10
MO Jasper Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 March 9
MN Pope Mississippi Commerce Turkeys H5N2 March 4
The
above April
13 APHIS list cites the reported farm H5N2 outbreaks since March
4. The list shows an acceleration
in H5N2 bird flu cases, as well as a broader geographic reach.
Moreover, these increases are also leading to a delay in reporting.
On
April 9 H5N2 was confirmed in three new counties in Minnesota
(Watonwan, Lyon, and Cottonwood), which led to April 9 announcements
of banning poultry imports by multiple countries in central and
South America. However, these new counties (as well as the 4th
outbreak in Stearns County) were not reported by APHIS until April 10.
Similarly,
confirmation by the USDA lab in Ames, Iowa of H5N2 in Dickey County,
North Dakota was cited in April 10 media reports, but APHIS did not
report the outbreak until April 11, with an April 11 confirmation
date. This outbreak was the first reported for North Dakota.
Moreover,
the April 11 confirmation of H5N2 at a chicken farm in Jefferson
County, Wisconsin led to an April
12 Canada ban of imports from Wisconsin as well as a warning to
travelers, but the outbreak was not announced by APHIS until April 13.
In
addition, several countries in central and South America have banned
imports from Le Sueuer County, Minnesota (see H5N2
map), and the ban date of March 21 indicates the outbreak was also
confirmed on April 11, but neither APHIS nor the Minnesota BAH has
cited the outbreak.
These
reporting delays suggest that the acceleration of cases and broadening
of H5N2 reach will lead to many more outbreaks in the near term.
The
chicken farm in Wisconsin is is due east of Milwaukee and 50 miles east
of Lake Michigan, which is in the Atlantic
Flyway and just east of the eastern border of the Mississippi
Flyway (but classified as Mississippi by the USDA based on an
administrative flyway map). The Minnesota farm is the most
eastern farm in the US, but the turley farm near Woodstock, Ontario is
over 400 miles east of the Wisconsin farm, suggesting H5N2 is already
migrating through Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania
and heading for more northern and western areas of Ontario as well as
Manitoba.
The
added cases in the US will likely lead to more reporting delays by
APHIS.
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