SPOKANE — Two cases of avian influenza were found in backyard coops in Stevens and Okanogan counties late last week, the state Department of Agriculture said Monday.
The case in Stevens County was found Friday in a medium-size backyard flock of mixed bird types in or near Chewelah, according to the department’s avian flu dashboard. Medium flocks range from 100 to 1,000 birds. The case in Okanogan County was found in a small backyard flock with less than 100 birds in Omak the same day.
Washington state domestic flocks had almost a year break from the disease H5N1 until last month, when cases were first detected in Franklin, Kitsap and Lewis counties.
Recent detections in wild birds, mammals and neighboring states indicate the virus is spreading during fall migration.
“While we had hoped to not see any cases this year, current trends suggest the virus is migrating this fall,” Dana Dobbs, avian health lead for the Washington State Veterinarian’s office, said in a statement. “We must stay vigilant and prepared to respond for the coming weeks, and potentially months.”
The first detection Oct. 16 in Franklin County was from a commercial egg farm of 800,000 poultry.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported nine cases in farm workers in Washington, three of which were confirmed last week. Three additional cases are suspected.
A total of 44 human cases have been confirmed in the United States this year as of Monday. The majority are from California and Colorado.
The disease was also detected for the first time in a pig in Oregon last week.
Amber Betts, a spokesperson for the state Department of Agriculture, said it has not been found in Washington livestock, but the dairy industry is taking precautions.
When the highly contagious disease is found in domestic birds, the entire flock has to be euthanized and their carcasses carefully disposed of, Betts said. Farms then have to stay fallow for a period before introducing a new flock.
A Department of Agriculture news release advised bird owners to protect their flocks by keeping them sheltered and restricting access to water sources where wild waterfowl gather and interact with domestic flocks. It is also a good idea to clean up any feed spills, limit visitors to the coop and refrain from sharing equipment with other flock owners.
Flock owners within approximately 6 miles of a detection are in a surveillance zone and are encouraged to self-report the health of their flock.
To date, there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission of avian influenza in Washington, according to the state Department of Health.
The CDC said in an update Monday it believes the immediate risk to the general public is low, but people with exposure to infected animals are at higher risk of.
