NEWS RELEASE
Texas Animal Health Commission
Box l2966 * Austin, Texas 78711 * (800) 550-8242 * FAX (512) 719-0719
Bob Hillman, DVM * Executive Director
For info , contact Carla Everett, information officer, at
1-800-550-8242, ext. 710, or ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us

For immediate release: April 1, 2004

Bird Disease Outbreak Over in Gonzales, Texas, Area

Animal health officials have announced that an outbreak of the H5N2 strain
of highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) near Gonzales, Texas, has been
eradicated, after tests on more than 352 noncommercial flocks did not
detect additional infection. For more than five weeks, a task force
comprised of veterinarians and animal health inspectors from the Texas
Animal Health Commission (TAHC) and U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Veterinary Services (USDA-VS) combed the area around Gonzales to locate
and test noncommercial flocks, to ensure the contagious poultry virus had
not spread from a single infected flock that was detected and depopulated
in February. Disease surveillance samples submitted by commercial poultry
operators in the area also have tested negative for the virus.

"The disease outbreak near Gonzales began in mid-February, when a
different, more potentially pathogenic strain of AI was detected in at
least 10 Asian countries. About that time, mild strains of the virus were
detected in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York. Additionally a highly
pathogenic strain of AI was detected in Canada. AI outbr! eaks were in the
world's spotlight," said Dr. Max Coats, deputy director for Animal Health
Programs for the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state's
livestock and poultry health regulatory agency.

Dr. Coats said the H5N2 AI strain in Texas, and the milder AI strains
detected in the northeast states have not been shown to affect human health
or compromise food safety. However, when initial amino acid sequencing
tests met the international animal health standard for an AI strain to be
classified as highly pathogenic to infected poultry, a number of countries
shut the door on shipments of poultry and poultry products from Texas, or,
in some cases, the entire country.

"The first priority for the AI task force in Texas was to stop the
outbreak, eliminate infected flocks, determine if the disease had spread to
other flocks, and ultimately, to conduct sufficient surveillance to confirm
th! at the disease was eradicated. These steps are necessary for Texas to
regain its access to foreign markets," he said. "We received outstanding
support from the city of Gonzales, where we set up an incident command
center for the 50-member joint state and federal task force. Thanks to the
cooperation of the poultry industry, flock owners, and the Texas Veterinary
Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL), we were able to complete the testing
and demonstrate that the disease outbreak has been wiped out."

"On February 21, we depopulated the infected flock of about 6,600 broiler
chickens near Gonzales, and within a few days, the premise had been
thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, to kill all traces of the virus. In
Houston, two bird markets that sell live fowl for on-site slaughter, had
received birds from the infected farm. These poultry markets, and three
others in Houston were de! populated and also cleaned and disinfected to
ensure that disease did not spread," said Dr. Coats.

"Since late February, the TAHC and USDA task force team has tested and
retested noncommercial flocks as many as four times within a 10-mile radius
around the premise where the infected chickens were housed. In the radius
of 10- to 30-miles from the infected premise, noncommercial flocks located
near commercial poultry operations were sampled, and all had negative test
results," said Dr. Coats. "In addition, the testing was expanded and
accelerated in commercial flocks to provide assurance that commercial
flocks are not infected."

"As an extra biosecurity precaution, the AI task force members did not
enter commercial poultry operations. Poultry company veterinarians
submitted the necessary blood and swab samples, which were tested at the
Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratories in Gonzales and College
Station, and, in a few cases, at the National Veterinary Services
Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa."

Dr. Coats said task force members followed strict biosecurity protocols to
prevent spreading viruses or bacteria. "Every precaution was taken to
avoid the potential of transmitting any disease from one farm to another.
The testing crews wore disposable coveralls, head and boot coverings and
latex gloves," he said. "They cleaned and disinfected their truck tires
and equipment before entering or exiting a premise, and bagged their
'dirty' disposable clothing, head coverings and gloves before leaving a farm."

"Laboratory test results, epidemiological reports, and good veterinary
science provide assurance that this Texas AI infection has been wiped
out. We still are working to determine how the infection may have been
introduced into the flock, and routine disease surveilla! nce will be
continued in commercial poultry flocks," said Dr. Coats. "Now we must work
to have our international trade status reinstated with nearly 40
countries. In late March, the AI task force in Gonzales hosted a
scientific delegation from Mexico that evaluated our efforts. USDA trade
negotiators will continue to encourage other countries to reopen their
borders as soon as possible, to enable international poultry trade to
resume."

"We were very fortunate that this outbreak involved only farm," said Dr.
Coats. "The flock owner acted quickly when he noticed higher than normal
death losses. I urge anyone with poultry or livestock also to act quickly
if they see unusual signs of illness or death losses. Call the TAHC or
your private veterinary practitioner, so samples can be collected and
action can be taken to stop a disease outbreak." A TAHC veterinarian
is on call 24 hours a day at 1-800-550-8242 to take reports of potential
disease outbreaks.