Tennessee Avian flu otbreak creates South Carolina concern

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was confirmed Saturday in a commercial flock in Lincoln County, Tennessee.  Dr. Boyd Parr, the South Carolina state veterinarian, urges all sectors of the South Carolina poultry industry to intensify bio-security efforts.  The Tennessee case is the first confirmed case influenza of that type in commercial poultry in the United States in 2017, and was confirmed by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspections Service (APHIS). South Carolina has had no known cases of the disease, but Parr is advising the state’s poultry producers to stay vigilant. As South Carolina State Veterinarian, Parr is director of Clemson University Livestock Poultry Health (LPH). While this strain of the disease is not considered a threat to public health or the food supply, the disease could be devastating to poultry farms.