COLUMBUS, Ohio — For 14 months Ohio poultry industry officials and veterinarians have urged prevention to keep an avian influenza strain (H5N2) out of the state that has been identified in other parts of the country. But the problem outside state boundaries may have a longer-lasting effect on producers as the ramifications go global.
The United States exports approximately 20 percent of the chicken and 14 percent of the turkey it produces, according to USDA data. Last year, China and South Korea accounted for about $428.5 million in export purchases of poultry meat and products.
About 40 countries have placed restrictions on the $5.7 billion U.S. poultry business in the wake of an avian flu outbreak that has hit commercial turkey flocks in states including nearby Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi.
And last week, The Associated Press reported Iowa authorities confirmed H5N2 was found on a 27,000-turkey farm in Buena Vista County. Cases were also reported in Wisconsin.
According to the Bloomberg Market Report, Mexico, the top importer of U.S. chicken and turkey, expanded its ban to include Minnesota, the nation’s top turkey producer, along with California and Missouri.
The European Union, Guatemala and Jordan have also imposed restrictions. China and South Korea banned all U.S. poultry exports after earlier bird flu outbreaks.
"Many of these bans are self-imposed by the USDA based on bilateral agreements between the U.S. and these other countries," said U.S. Egg & Poultry Export Council spokesman Toby Moore. "Most restrictions are on products from affected states, and a few are limited to the affected counties. Bans normally remain in place for 90 days past the date the affected farm is cleaned and disinfected."
The flu-affected birds are located in the Mississippi Flyaway, a bird migration route where this flu strain had previously been seen.
This flu moved from wild birds to commercial flocks of turkeys in California, Minnesota and South Dakota as well as backyard flocks of chickens or mixed poultry in Idaho, Kansas, Oregon and Washington. All this resulted in bans on U.S. poultry in several counties.
"Right now it’s not terrible," said Jessica Sampson, an economist with the Livestock Marketing Information Council. "The potential is there for things to get worse."
Officials are worried the outbreak has hit Arkansas, the heart of the U.S. poultry industry and where Tyson, the largest U.S. chicken processor, is based. No cases of avian flu have been found in flocks grown for Tyson, according to company spokesman Worth Sparkman.
Butterball, the largest turkey processor, found infected birds at one of its contract farms in Arkansas and one in Missouri, according to spokeswoman Stephanie Llorente. Cargill, also a major turkey producer, found bird flu cases at one of its contract farms in Missouri, according to Mike Martin, a company spokesman.
According to Moore, once the epidemic is under control, restrictions imposed on U.S. poultry sales likely will be lifted.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated humans have little risk from this outbreak, which began on the West Coast. Affected products include turkey and chicken meat, along with eggs, fertile hatching eggs and breeding stock.
The H5N2 avian flu virus is different than the H7N9 bird flu virus that has been connected to illnesses in humans. That virus doesn’t usually affect people, but officials in China started finding infected humans in 2013.
