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AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER HALTS POULTRY LITTER
MOVEMENT IN PANHANDLE COUNTIES
West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass has ordered a halt to any movement of poultry litter in counties in the state’s eastern panhandle after one farm tested positive for low-pathogenicity H5N2 avian influenza.
“This action is part of our avian influenza response protocol. Poultry producers must not do any house clean-outs, crust-outs, or land applications,” said Commissioner Douglass.
“While we have no reason to believe that there are any other cases of avian influenza in Pendleton County or elsewhere in West Virginia, it is important that we exercise an abundance of caution at this time.”
The order includes Pendleton, Hardy, Grant, Hampshire and Mineral Counties, and will remain in effect at least 30 days.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Saturday confirmed H5N2 avian influenza in samples taken from a Pendleton County turkey farm as part of routine pre-slaughter disease surveillance. The birds did not leave the farm, and the H5N2 strain poses no risk to human health.
Teams of workers were working Monday to depopulate and dispose of approximately 25,000 turkeys at the farm.
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The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
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