Avian influenza found in Missouri

Low pathogenic avian influenza has been found on a turkey farm in south west Missouri, with up to 15,000 young birds set to be slaughtered and the farm quarantined.

The farm in Polk County grows turkeys for Cargill. A spokesman for the company, Mike Miller, told the Kansas City Star they were currently working to protect 13,000 adult birds from the disease, where as yet no infection had been detected.

Flocks within a six-mile radius of the farm are being tested for the virus, while secondary tests to authenticate the initial positive reading are being carried out at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture said in a release it was working with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the United States Department of Agriculture to assess the situation while state veterinarians were caring for the birds.