AVIAN INFLUENZA, H7N3, POULTRY - USA (TEXAS) (03)
Source: Texas Animal Health Commission official news release [edited]
For Immediate Release 23 Jun 2004
Avian Influenza (AI) Detected in Small Flock in Hopkins County, Texas
Laboratory tests Tue 22 Jun 2003, confirmed that a flock of 14 birds in Hopkins County in northeast Texas was infected with H7N3, the same strain of the avian influenza (AI) that led to the depopulation and burial of 48
000 commercial breeding chickens in the county in mid-May.
The small flock, located about 4 miles from the depopulated commercial operations, was immediately euthanized and incinerated. Texas Animal Health Commission
(TAHC) veterinarians now may need to revise the AI disease surveillance plan, and additional testing of flocks in the area will be necessary to ensure disease eradication and satisfy the requirements of interstate and international trading partners.
"This turn of events is disappointing to us and the area's poultry owners, but it demonstrates why widespread, repeated flock testing is necessary during an AI outbreak. This infected noncommercial flock was one of more
than 315 in a 300-square mile area that tested negative a little more than 2 weeks ago. Our on-site team had nearly completed the 2nd round of testing the flocks when the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames,
Iowa, reported the positive test results on the small 14-bird flock that had 10 chickens and 4 ducks," said Dr. Max Coats, deputy director for Animal Health Programs for the TAHC, the state's livestock and poultry health regulatory agency.
Carla Everett
ceverett@tahc.state.tx.us _______________________________________________________
CHROMIUM POISONING, INTENTIONAL, BOVINE - USA (WASHINGTON)
Source: Associated Press [edited]
Mystery substance in Washington investigation was a Chromium compound. Milk from affected cows did not get in food supply. Criminal investigation still under way. FDA names substance that sickened cows
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was cited as saying Wednesday it has identified the toxic substance that killed 3 cows after it was splashed on a farmer's dairy herd earlier this month.
Tests showed that a chromium compound was to blame for the previously unexplained deaths, the agency said. Such compounds are used in a wide range of products, from multivitamins to glass cleaners.
Dr. Robert Brackett, the FDA's food safety director, was cited as saying he could not release details about the specific compound found on several cows in the Enumclaw herd because of the ongoing criminal probe.
Jay Gordon, executive director for the state Dairy Federation, was quoted as saying, "It's not something we use in the dairy industry."
[The dairy farm owner] found the tacky, reddish-brown substance on cows in his herd 6 Jun 2004. 10 became sick and 3 eventually died. Each had blisters on its back from exposure to the chemical.
Source: U.S. FDA Press Release [edited]
http://www.fda.gov:80/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01081.html>
Statement on FDA test results from Washington State dairy cattle