Biosecurity Vital In Preventing The Spread Of H5N1, WA Vet Notes

For the past five years, North America has battled the H5N1 strain of bird flu, and millions of chickens and other domesticate birds have died in the process.  Animal health experts will tell you biosecurity is vital when it comes to protecting your commercial operation or backyard flock  Things like keeping your birds separate from migrating waterfowl and keeping species separate are key steps.

But, Washington state veterinarian Dr. Amber Itle says that’s only part of a good biosecurity plan.  The other part is what we humans do.

“I would definitely recommend having dedicated footwear for just at home," Itle said.  "I'm going to, these are my chicken boots and I'm going to wear my chicken boots when I'm at home. I'm not going to, I'm not going to wear them to the feed store. I'm not going to wear them, you know, out in public because we know where you can cross-contaminate there, right?”

Itle said it’s not just footwear, but overall clothing as well.  She recommends coveralls that are only worn when dealing with your flock; especially if you’re in close contact with your birds.  And she stressed, washing your hands is vital.

“It sounds like a really basic recommendation. But as we talked about before, we know that waterfowl can land on our property," Itle said.  "And, it can be anywhere in the environment. It can be, maybe it's maybe we're dragging a hose through a bunch of muck. I mean, it's a wet time of year. And we don't even think about the fact that, oh, you know, geese might have landed here last night and defecated, and now my hose is contaminated. Now I'm touching my hose. And, you know, we just need to really be thinking about all of those little things.”

If you want more information on bird flu and how to keep your animals safe, visit the Washington State Department of Agriculture's Website.

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