Dear Neighbor,
Greetings as we make our way through the last couple official weeks of summer. I was in St. Paul this week to attend an informational meeting regarding avian influenza, which struck our state's turkey industry earlier this year. It was an interesting discussion about where we were, where we are and where we go from here. Below is a news release I sent to local media recapping what took place.
Sincerely,
Mark
POSITIVE REPORT REGARDING
AVIAN INFLUENZA
ST. PAUL – An update regarding avian influenza, which recently devastated the state's turkey flock, was provided during a House hearing Tuesday at the Capitol.
The upshot: The situation is under control and the state is better prepared to mitigate future outbreaks of the virus and handle them if they occur.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture reports avian influenza infected nine million birds on more than 100 farms across the state from March to June. State and federal officials, along with poultry producers, joined members of both House agriculture committees – policy and finance – at Tuesday's meeting to report more about what happened, where we are now and what steps are taken for the future.
"We learned some important things about what to do and what not to do through that last outbreak," said Rep. Mark Anderson, R-Lake Shore, who attended the meeting as a member of both House agriculture committees. "It hit the state so hard and was so widespread it seemed to catch people by surprise, complicating the response. One thing I am pleased with is control will move closer to home going forward."
The aspect of control Anderson referenced pertains to a new approach for case managers, with the state playing a larger role. Strong concern was expressed at the meeting over the way federal case managers were deployed during the recent outbreak. In the future, officials from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health will manage cases, staying on assignment from start to finish when a flock is infected.
A quicker response time in terms of depopulating infected flocks also could help contain the virus. It took several days or even weeks to depopulate barns during the recent outbreak, but the goal now is 24 to 48 hours.
"One thing I would like to explore more thoroughly is opening the door for private entities to assist in clean-up efforts," Anderson said. "That would be a way to speed up the process and avoid lag times caused by overwhelmed state agencies."
The Legislature has provided significant funding toward this effort, starting with $8.5 million to aid recovery efforts last spring. Long-range plans also are in the works, with $18 million for a veterinary isolation lab in St. Paul and $8.5 million for a poultry-testing lab in Willmar included in this year's bonding bill.
"It is good to see the turkey industry is rebounding," Anderson said. "More than half of the farms that lost their flocks have restocked their barns and processing plants are bringing workers back on the job. The important thing will be to keep a close eye on this situation the next few months as birds migrate and increase the threat of spreading this virus. In any case, the improvements now in place leave us in better position to handle situations that may arise."
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