Avian influenza (HPAI) found in a TPWD-licensed facility in Erath County

Notice from TPWD

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has informed TPWD Commercial Game Bird Breeder and/or Private Bird Hunting Area License holders that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been found in a TPWD-licensed facility (primarily pheasants) in Erath County, Texas, which resulted in that facility being depopulated in the last week by Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (press releases may be found here and here).  

The following is the notice to those license holders:

As a TPWD-licensed facility, we wanted you to be aware of the presence of this disease in Texas – first found in North America this last December in Labrador and Newfoundland, Canada. Since the first detections in the United States, it has been circulating greatly among many states and moving in an westerly direction that first started in the mid-Atlantic states. For a list of the latest HPAI positives in wild birds and commercial/backyard flocks, please see USDA’s website found here.

In addition, TPWD wants license holders to have the best information available from the network of agencies that supplies this information, including the USDA, TAHC, and Center for Disease Control (CDC) on HPAI. Please see the USDA website found here for the available information on this disease, including pertinent information on initial response, surveillance, quarantine, biosecurity, etc. As of right now, the best thing to do is follow the biosecurity controls outlined by the Texas Animal Health Commission in a press release last month, including, but not limited, to the following:

Preventing contact with wild birds, especially wild waterfowl

 Restricting unauthorized people and vehicles

 Covering and enclosing outdoor feeding areas, and covering stored feed

 Cleaning and disinfecting any vehicle tires or equipment that has been on other farms or other locations where there is poultry or wild birds

 Wearing clean clothing, boots and shoes when in contact with your flock

 Isolating new birds

In addition, please be aware of the potential symptoms that birds may exhibit after contracting HPAI, including, not limited, to the following:

Loss of appetite

 Lack of vocalization

Coughing/Respiratory Distress/Sneezing

Swollen face

Diarrhea

Paralysis

Sudden and rapid death loss

If you would suspect  that your facility may have a case of HPAI, we recommend you immediately contact your regional Texas Animal Health Commission regional office (contacts below). In addition, please feel free to contact your local TPWD biologist or TPWD game warden as another immediate step to get necessary response to this potential disease.

In addition, although the risk to humans is low,  there have been cases of HPAI found in humans working closely with poultry and other birds.  For information related to human exposure, please see the CDC’s website on the disease found here.  If you need any other information, please feel free to follow-up with your regional TAHC office or myself directly.  Thanks again and we will continue to update TPWD license holders as more information becomes available or other outbreaks occur to best protect your resources and facilities.