Georgia Launches Campaign To Prevent Avian Flu Outbreak

Dr. Louise Dufour-Zavala, director of the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network, is working with the Department of Agriculture and other agencies on a campaign to prevent an outbreak here.

“The virus is in wildlife. It’s in wild waterfowl that are migrating south — that’s why we’re concerned about this fall,” Dufour-Zavala said. “The source of the virus itself we cannot control, but what we’re putting a lot of emphasis on is educating our poultry growers.”

Scientists at the lab are testing birds, and the state has launched an educational campaign with brochures in six different languages: Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, English and Vietnamese.

Department of Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said poultry production is a $28 billion industry in Georgia and employs more than 100,000 people.

“We’re trying to avoid the devastation they’ve faced in the Midwest,” Black said. “We’re working with the commercial industry and backyard owners to make sure we’re practicing strong biosecurity measures by keeping poultry inside and making sure humans have dedicated footwear for the chicken house or area where someone might have backyard chickens.”

Farmers are also getting weekly emails from the Georgia Poultry Federation with safety tips — like wearing disposable boots every time they leave a chicken coop and bringing backyard birds inside as much as possible until December.

December is when the migration season ends and birds are less exposed to avian flu.

This summer, three chicken flocks in central Georgia and their eggs were killed as a precaution against avian flu.

Dufour-Zavala said the state is ready to depopulate and dispose of more birds if it needs to.

“What we’ve learned from the Midwest is in order for the virus not to spread, we have to depopulate the birds on the farm that’s infected within 24 hours of the diagnosis,” Dufour-Zavala said.