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Testing will see if bird flu has spread from turkey farm in Polk County

An eastern Polk county poultry farm is quarantined after the discovery of bird flu. The turkey producer is a locally operated farm, but contracted with food giant Cargill.

March 31, 2011|by Linda Russell, KY3 News | lrussell@ky3.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A poultry farm in eastern Polk County is quarantined after the discovery of bird flu.  The turkey producer is a locally operated farm, but contracts with food giant Cargill.

The people at Estes Hatchery in Springfield are thankful for their healthy chicks and ducklings.

"I don't want that to happen to anybody," said Sean Richardson of Estes Hatchery.

At the turkey farm in Polk County, antibodies that react to a low pathogenic bird flu strain, H7N3, were discovered during routine pre-harvest testing.  Cargill says the turkeys on that contract farm have not shown any signs of sickness.

Cargill is not releasing the farm's location.  The farm is quarantined, meaning there is tight control on any animals, people and vehicles going in and out, and poultry farms within a six-mile radius are being tested for the avian flu.  Those in close vicinity to the farm should find out by Friday if the flu virus has spread.

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The bird flu case doesn't have poultry owners like Estes Hatchery panicking. 

"The reason I'm not too worried about it is we have over 20 separate flock owners, most of which is around in the Amish community, and the reason we do that is in case something like this did happen," said Richardson.

Missouri health department officials say consumers also shouldn't worry; they say the food supply is safe.  One group of tom turkeys at the affected farm will be harvested, while a younger group, not ready for harvest, will be euthenized to prevent the potential spread of the virus, Cargill says. 

The Centers for Disease Control says avian flu is killed with proper cooking and washing of hands and utensils.  The Missouri Department of Agriculture says it's extremely rare for humans to be affected by this type of avian flu.

More information on avian influenza from the U.S. Department of Agriculture

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