Mild strain of bird flu found in N. Carolina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Turkeys at a farm in North Carolina
tested positive for a mild, low-pathogenic strain of bird flu
which is common in birds and poses no threat to humans, the
U.S. Agriculture Department said on Thursday.

Routine tests conducted on poultry in North Carolina found
the H3N2 strain of bird flu in turkeys on a farm in Sampson
County, in the eastern part of the state, the USDA said.

A much more serious strain of the disease, known as H5N1,
has been found in Asia and Eastern Europe and been blamed for
68 deaths.

The low-pathogenic disease found in North Carolina has
appeared elsewhere in the United States this year, according to

USDA.

Among the findings this year, low-pathogenic bird flu was
discovered in several Japanese quail on a farm in California
near Sun Valley.

“Bird flu is as common as the human flu,” said Ed Loyd, a
USDA spokesman. “With attention on high (pathogenic) in Asia
and Eastern Europe, there has been more attention on bird flu
this year.”

Last year 1.8 million U.S. birds were tested for avian
influenza in the United States, mostly poultry intended for
export, according to USDA.

Poultry exports from Sampson County and adjacent counties
were suspended Tuesday for 30 days. Other counties in the state
are being tested, at a rate of 15 birds per flock, before the
birds can be exported to Russia, which requires more thorough
testing when any form of bird flu is found.

The United States is the world’s largest producer and
exporter of poultry meat. The $23 billion U.S. agribusiness
slaughters 170 million chickens each week.