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News Release 5-13-2002

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COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE GUS R. DOUGLASS LIFTS QUARANTINE OF MOOREFIELD FARM FAMILY

The quarantine of a Moorefield family due to an Avian Influenza (AI) outbreak has been lifted after they and their personal vehicles were disinfected. The family is now free to go about their normal activities, according to Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass.

“I want to thank the family for their understanding and cooperation during this especially trying time for them,” said Commissioner Douglass. “I’d also like to thank the U.S. Department of Agriculture for sending personnel to help with this AI outbreak, and all the employees of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture who have worked throughout the weekend dealing with this incident.”

The 13,900 infected birds were depopulated over the weekend. The dead birds were taken to a nearby rendering plant where their remains were sterilized, then taken to the Tucker County landfill.

Samples were taken at farms within a two-mile radius of the positive farm. Preliminary results are tentatively expected back Monday. Full results, including typing of the virus strain, will take about a week.

Commissioner Douglass ordered some of his laboratory personnel to Moorefield to assist with further testing. Laboratories at the Virginia Department of Agriculture, which earlier conducted tests for West Virginia, are overwhelmed due to the AI outbreak in that state, Commissioner Douglass explained.

Farm equipment at the infected farm remains under quarantine. The bans enacted by Commissioner Douglass on poultry and egg shows remain in effect, as well as his ban on the importation of poultry litter from Virginia.

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) has been on a high state of alert during the situation in Virginia. All WVDA employees working with poultry are required to exercise the highest level of biosecurity protocols, which include minimizing contact with flocks whenever possible; wearing disposable boots, gloves and coveralls when in contact with poultry; and decontaminating vehicles when they leave a farm.

Commissioner Douglass helped spearhead the nationwide development of such protocols as chairman of USDA’s Foreign Animal Disease Committee, which was convened earlier to prevent the introduction of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) into America during the outbreak in Great Britain.

The poultry industry is the Mountain State’s leading agricultural commodity, adding $200 million annually to the state’s economy and employing more than 5,000 people.

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