Poultry farms on alert: Disease outbreak in Va. concerns state farmers

DAILY MAIL CAPITOL REPORTER

Rodney Branson is living 17 miles from disaster.

The Hardy County poultry farmer is watching as farmers andofficials destroy and dispose of hundreds of thousands of birdsafflicted with avian influenza in neighboring Rockingham County, Va.

The outbreak, which started two weeks ago, has not yet reachedWest Virginia.

"I think we have to look at the optimistic side of things, itwould be too depressing not to," Branson said Wednesday. "We can lickit."

The disease, which is not harmful to humans, is an ax hanging overthe necks of West Virginians poultry farmers. An outbreak in HardyCounty - the heart of West Virginia's multi-million dollar poultryindustry - could mean disaster.

"If it's a very serious outbreak of avian flu, it could bedevastating to the industry," said Marc Harman of the West VirginiaPoultry Association.

So, West Virginia Agriculture Commissioner Gus Douglass last weekordered the state's poultry farms essentially locked down. Visitorsare generally no longer welcome.

People and equipment entering or leaving a poultry farm are beingdisinfected. Poultry sales at public markets are banned, Douglasssaid.

The spring meeting of the Poultry Association has been canceled,Harman said. Getting a group of poultry farmers in one place is outof the question. If one farmer carrying avian influenza went to ameeting it could mean disaster.

"We are on a high state of alert here with a challenge upon thepoultry industry," Douglass said.

Across the border in Virginia, officials are simultaneously tryingto figure out how the disease is spreading and trying to stop thespread, said Elaine Lidholm, a spokeswoman for the VirginiaDepartment of Agriculture.

Twenty-three farms have been quarantined, Lidholm said. As ofWednesday, the state had killed 61,000 birds and had 223,000 morewaiting to be put down.

"Today I know it has risen I just don't know by how much," shesaid Wednesday. "It will probably rise again tomorrow."

Douglass is concerned but confident. He said West Virginiasurvived the last big avian influenza outbreak in the early 1980s.Virginia got hit that time, too.

West Virginia's mountains cut down in the number of birdsmigrating in and out of the state, Douglass said. That and a good bio-security program have long kept the state clean, he said.

"This is great for the industry. It's a selling point that I usewhen I'm trying to get people to locate here," Douglass said.

The avian flu has hit Maine and Pennsylvania, this year, as wellas Virginia, said Kimberley Smith of the U.S. Animal and Plant HealthInspection Service. Some importers of U.S. poultry products areapparently getting nervous.

"We have at a federal level been assisting with internationaltrade consequences of the outbreaks this year," Smith said. "We havebeen working with Japan to make sure that they continue to acceptU.S. exports."

That means West Virginia is looking better and better to poultryproducers who don't want to lose international business, Douglasssaid.

"Perdue has bought property in West Virginia and is looking todevelop a major expansion in the Randolph, Barbour, Upshur countyarea," he said.

Watching from across the border, Lidholm said she wouldn't beshocked to find out that West Virginia has a darn fine reputation forbio-security.

"I'm guessing by how quickly they acted to enhance their bio-security when they heard we had (avian influenza), I wouldn't be atall surprised," she said.

Douglass said the poultry industry is producing as fast as it can.Production of broilers, turkeys and chicken eggs combined pumped $193million into West Virginia's economy in 2000. Branson estimated thatseven of every 10 jobs in Hardy County are poultry-related.

Douglass said he's contacted the state Office of EmergencyServices to make a plan for disposing of diseased birds in case theflu hits. But for now, state officials and poultry farmers can onlyclamp down on bio-security and hope.

Branson said poultry farmers don't meet in person these days forfear of cross-contamination. They just talk on the phone.

"When things settle down we'll meet at the farms and some of thesethings when we don't have this hanging over our heads," he said.

Writer Sam Tranum can be reached at 348-4872 or by e-mail atsamt@dailymail.com.