The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) is currently monitoring a control zone in southeast Kansas, including areas of Cherokee and Crawford counties, after a confirmed case of the H5N2 strain of avian influenza was found in a commercial flock of turkeys in nearby Jasper County, Missouri.
Dr. Bill Brown, Kansas state animal health commissioner, confirmed that a response team from KDA’s Division of Animal Health and from USDA has been dispatched to the area to conduct surveillance activities.
“It is important to know where backyard flocks of poultry exist. We have also been in contact with commercial poultry farmers in the region,” Brown said. “We are dedicated to providing the necessary assistance and precautions to avoid any possible spreading of the disease.”
Symptoms in poultry include coughing, sneezing, respiratory distress, decreased egg production and sudden death.
KDA is seeking assistance from backyard poultry owners in the Crawford and Cherokee County regions. The agency is requesting that people that own poultry in backyard flocks self-report their flocks.
To date, two commercial turkey flocks in Missouri have had confirmed cases of avian influenza. Also in the Mississippi flyway, Minnesota and Arkansas have had confirmed outbreaks of avian influenza in commercial turkey operations.
Other states impacted by avian influenza in recent months include Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and California.
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