Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2006 23:28:59 GMT -5
Copied from seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/287481_birdflu04.html
Urban bird owners get anti-flu advice
By TOM PAULSON
P-I REPORTER
Hundreds of undocumented chickens live in Seattle, a clucking time bomb planted right in the urban core that poses just as great a risk for deadly bird flu as any rural chicken should the severe Asian strain of avian influenza ever finds its way to this region.
"All bird owners need to educate themselves how best to protect themselves and their animals," said Valoria Loveland, director of the state Department of Agriculture.
That includes the owners of at least 500 urban chickens living in Seattle backyards. Tuesday, state and federal officials held a public meeting to educate regional small-flock poultry and pet bird owners about the need to use standard "biosecurity" practices to protect against the disease. That included a call for all bird owners to register their flocks to assist with a statewide disease surveillance program.
"It's really important that we identify sick birds as soon as possible," said Dr. Mark Kinsel, avian health program officer for the state Agriculture Department. "You really are our eyes and ears on this."
When a poultry farm just across the U.S.-Canada border in British Columbia got hit in 2004 by a different form of bird flu (typically known as "highly pathogenic" avian influenza, or HPAI), Kinsel said Washington state officials knew any flock in nearby Whatcom County was at risk for the infection.
Because they had no official record of who owned poultry beyond the large-scale farms, he said authorities had to go door to door to more than 10,000 households in northern Whatcom County asking people whether they owned any birds and whether they could be tested.
"It took three months," Kinsel said. "We just can't afford to do that."
The nationwide, multiagency effort to improve surveillance of and preparation for an invasion of these severe forms of bird flu virus involves many activities focused on wild and domesticated fowl. Migratory birds such as geese and ducks are being tested for the virus by wildlife authorities in places such as the Skagit Valley and along the coast from Alaska to California.
U.S. Department of Agriculture and state agriculture officials such as Kinsel have been working with large, commercial poultry operations to make sure they are engaging in the best practices of disease prevention and aggressively reporting any outbreaks of illness.
One of the missing links in this defensive system being built against bird flu, say officials, have been the small flock and pet bird owners.
"In the city of Seattle, it's legal for any resident to have up to three chickens," noted Dr. Sharon Hopkins, chief veterinarian for Public Health -- Seattle & King County. It's a popular practice in this city, Hopkins said, but if bird flu should invade the region, it could be important for owners to register the birds so authorities know where all those chickens are located.
"I don't see that happening," said Angelina Shell, city chickens coordinator for Seattle Tilth, a non-profit gardener and urban farming organization.
Shell estimates there are at least 500 chickens living in Seattle backyards, as pets or egg producers, and that most people would be reluctant to consider registering the birds.
Her organization teaches people how to raise urban chickens safely and always provides participants with information from agricultural and public health officials. But Shell said she has her doubts that people actually will register.
Peter Welty, who lives in Auburn with a dozen chickens at home, was at the meeting yesterday and said this was the first he had heard about the request to register. Welty, who said he probably would register, said he went to learn more about backyard biosecurity.
Although biosecurity is a concept familiar to all commercial poultry farmers, authorities want to make sure backyard farmers and pet owners know how to practice a small-scale version of it as well.
Basically, it involves specific hygiene practices, restricting access to the birds and aggressive reporting of ill birds to officials.
"Biosecurity is the best method of controlling these diseases," said Dr. A. Singh Dhillon, director of the avian health laboratory at the Puyallup branch of Washington State University.
ON THE WEB
For more information about state efforts in avian health and surveillance poultry see www.agr.wa.gov For federal information on biosecurity, see www.aphis.usda.gov/vs.
P-I reporter Tom Paulson can be reached at 206-448-8318 or tompaulson@seattlepi.com.
Urban bird owners get anti-flu advice
By TOM PAULSON
P-I REPORTER
Hundreds of undocumented chickens live in Seattle, a clucking time bomb planted right in the urban core that poses just as great a risk for deadly bird flu as any rural chicken should the severe Asian strain of avian influenza ever finds its way to this region.
"All bird owners need to educate themselves how best to protect themselves and their animals," said Valoria Loveland, director of the state Department of Agriculture.
That includes the owners of at least 500 urban chickens living in Seattle backyards. Tuesday, state and federal officials held a public meeting to educate regional small-flock poultry and pet bird owners about the need to use standard "biosecurity" practices to protect against the disease. That included a call for all bird owners to register their flocks to assist with a statewide disease surveillance program.
"It's really important that we identify sick birds as soon as possible," said Dr. Mark Kinsel, avian health program officer for the state Agriculture Department. "You really are our eyes and ears on this."
When a poultry farm just across the U.S.-Canada border in British Columbia got hit in 2004 by a different form of bird flu (typically known as "highly pathogenic" avian influenza, or HPAI), Kinsel said Washington state officials knew any flock in nearby Whatcom County was at risk for the infection.
Because they had no official record of who owned poultry beyond the large-scale farms, he said authorities had to go door to door to more than 10,000 households in northern Whatcom County asking people whether they owned any birds and whether they could be tested.
"It took three months," Kinsel said. "We just can't afford to do that."
The nationwide, multiagency effort to improve surveillance of and preparation for an invasion of these severe forms of bird flu virus involves many activities focused on wild and domesticated fowl. Migratory birds such as geese and ducks are being tested for the virus by wildlife authorities in places such as the Skagit Valley and along the coast from Alaska to California.
U.S. Department of Agriculture and state agriculture officials such as Kinsel have been working with large, commercial poultry operations to make sure they are engaging in the best practices of disease prevention and aggressively reporting any outbreaks of illness.
One of the missing links in this defensive system being built against bird flu, say officials, have been the small flock and pet bird owners.
"In the city of Seattle, it's legal for any resident to have up to three chickens," noted Dr. Sharon Hopkins, chief veterinarian for Public Health -- Seattle & King County. It's a popular practice in this city, Hopkins said, but if bird flu should invade the region, it could be important for owners to register the birds so authorities know where all those chickens are located.
"I don't see that happening," said Angelina Shell, city chickens coordinator for Seattle Tilth, a non-profit gardener and urban farming organization.
Shell estimates there are at least 500 chickens living in Seattle backyards, as pets or egg producers, and that most people would be reluctant to consider registering the birds.
Her organization teaches people how to raise urban chickens safely and always provides participants with information from agricultural and public health officials. But Shell said she has her doubts that people actually will register.
Peter Welty, who lives in Auburn with a dozen chickens at home, was at the meeting yesterday and said this was the first he had heard about the request to register. Welty, who said he probably would register, said he went to learn more about backyard biosecurity.
Although biosecurity is a concept familiar to all commercial poultry farmers, authorities want to make sure backyard farmers and pet owners know how to practice a small-scale version of it as well.
Basically, it involves specific hygiene practices, restricting access to the birds and aggressive reporting of ill birds to officials.
"Biosecurity is the best method of controlling these diseases," said Dr. A. Singh Dhillon, director of the avian health laboratory at the Puyallup branch of Washington State University.
ON THE WEB
For more information about state efforts in avian health and surveillance poultry see www.agr.wa.gov For federal information on biosecurity, see www.aphis.usda.gov/vs.
P-I reporter Tom Paulson can be reached at 206-448-8318 or tompaulson@seattlepi.com.