Since a highly contagious strain of bird flu was in the U.S. in December, many countries have to chickens and turkeys raised here.
The virus isn鈥檛 harmful to humans. So far, mostly wild birds and backyard flocks have been infected, though bird flu was turkey flock in California. Commercial poultry farmers are worried because they have the most to lose.
on U.S. poultry products while dozens of other countries are limiting their American imports by prohibiting most products raised in the Pacific Northwest. That鈥檚 a big deal because the amount of U.S. chicken alone sold abroad last year exceeded 7 billion pounds. Turkey and eggs are also exported.
鈥淎 few of our trading partners have taken what we believe to be unnecessary steps,鈥� said John Clifford, chief veterinary officer for animal health at USDA, which oversees the United States鈥� role in international avian flu monitoring. 鈥淸They] shut off our entire poultry, both live birds as well as products, from the U.S., unless it's cooked.鈥�
There鈥檚 an international system in place for countries to notify each other when cases of highly pathogenic avian flu are identified. While that helps veterinary officials stay on top of the virus鈥� travels, it can have economic consequences.
鈥淚t has impacts to the commercial industry and trade that result in millions and millions and millions of dollars,鈥� Clifford said.
Biosecurity can keep birds healthy, which is vital to the $44 billion dollar U.S. poultry and egg industry. Day-to-day precautions like limiting contact between poultry farms and disinfecting the boots of workers as they go in and out of barns have helped central Iowa turkey farmer Noel Thompson and other commercial poultry producers keep avian flu out of their flocks.
The U.S. is the world鈥檚 largest supplier of poultry meat. Thompson brings about 700,000 turkeys to market annually.
鈥淢ost people have a turkey sandwich for lunch maybe once or twice a week,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 where the majority of the turkey meat that鈥檚 produced in this country goes.鈥�
Required testing of blood and tissue offers ongoing surveillance for diseases, including flu. Also, and Thompson says this is critical, all his turkeys live indoors. When he started in the business 35 years ago, the turkeys ranged outside.
鈥淲e raised them out in the fresh air and it was just really, really wonderful,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd you鈥檙e going to hear some sarcasm right now: What was so nice about it was we had all kinds of wild birds swooping in and eating out of the same feeders that the turkeys were eating out of.鈥�
The wild birds would repay their inadvertent hosts by sharing whatever diseases they were carrying. Say what you will about animal welfare, but moving the birds inside did protect them from those threats.
Many small backyard flocks still have contact with wild birds. In fact, that鈥檚 what officials think happened in Washington, Oregon and Idaho where regulators first found the highly contagious form of bird flu. Iowa State University professor K. J. Yoon says these cases in the Pacific Northwest were handled exactly as planned.
鈥淚 really want to compliment what Washington state and Oregon state regulatory folks are doing because they have been able to contain the disease in that area,鈥� Yoon said.
Yoon says other countries, such as South Korea, haven鈥檛 been as successful.
鈥淭hey actually broke with the same serotypes of virus and that continues to spread [to] that entire country,鈥� he said.
Trade, of course, is a political issue. But the wild, often migratory, birds that carry avian influenza around the world don鈥檛 care about politics any more than they care about international borders. With bird flu circulating in North America, Asia and Europe, it鈥檚 those wild birds that worry farmer Noel Thompson, not the temporary trade restrictions.鈥淵eah, you pay attention to it,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut you cannot run a business on the ups and downs of what鈥檚 happening in the news today.鈥�
Come summer, however, Thompson will look with trepidation upon the wild birds overhead, imagining the diseases they could be harboring, and fearing that a flu virus could spread from them through the open curtains of a poultry barn.
