Tyson Foods Inc. says it destroyed the chickens Tuesday as a precautionary measure. The company made the discovery during routine pre-slaughter testing last Friday. According to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission, the flock came from a farm near West Fork.
The birds were tested on the farm, so they were never brought to a Tyson plant. Tests showed the virus only existed in the bird’s blood, not the tissues. That means the chickens were exposed to the disease at some point, and were carrying the dead virus.
Tyson says this is not the same strain as the bird flu virus overseas. Although the birds pose no risk to human health, it’s USDA policy to eradicate the entire flock. “One of the things that everybody needs to realize is that this is a situation where the system is working perfectly. There is no chicken in the state of Arkansas or in the nation for that matter that is processed or even leaves the farm until it is blood tested,” says Jon Fitch, Executive Director of the Livestock and Poultry Commission. [Yeah, OK, sure. This is just the beginning and don’t think for a second there aren’t birds circulating in the US food chain with the H7N3 avian influenza flu strain.] Preliminary tests on the flock indicate the presence of antibodies for H7N3 avian influenza, however, there is no indication the birds currently have the virus. The 15,000 chickens involved show no signs of illness and the situation poses no risk to human health. More
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