Farwell poultry facility tests positive for bird flu

Cal-Maine Foods’ poultry facility in Farwell tested positive for bird flu last week, forcing the destruction of 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets, officials said.

“They’re going to be working hard to clean up the facility and get it ready to go back to work,” said Max Bowman, vice president and chief financial officer for the company.

In a press release from the Texas Department of Agriculture, the loss accounts for approximately 3.6% of the company’s total flock.

Cal-Maine, headquartered in Mississippi, is the U.S.’ largest producer and distributer of shell eggs, according to its website.

“This is absolutely devastating news for Cal-Maine and the entire Panhandle region which has already suffered so much already,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in the release, referencing recent wildfires that killed two and caused millions in damages.

Miller encouraged poultry and cattle producers to practice heightened biosecurity measures.

“It’s around the globe and not just the U.S.,” Bowman said. “We work extremely hard to do everything we can to keep the virus away.”

H5N1, or bird flu, is a form of highly pathogenic avian influenza that is most often contracted in humans by contact with sick birds. While the illness in humans is rare and can be mild – red, itchy eyes – it can also be fatal. The World Health Organization reports 254 cases of human infection with avian influenza occurred between 2003 and this year; it reports 141 of those cases were fatal.

According to the release, the news of the positive test at Cal-Maine in Farwell comes after the Center for Disease Control confirmed a positive test in a Texas dairy worker who had direct contact with cattle suspected of being infected. The individual became mildly ill after interacting with cattle believed to be carrying the virus.

According to the CDC, this marks only the second human case of bird flu in the United States and the first associated with exposure to cattle.

According to the TDA, cattle impacted by bird flu exhibit flu-like symptoms and a sharp reduction in milk. The disease is fatal to poultry.

“We want to protect our birds because they’re our livelihood and certainly our employees, and then we want to service our customers,” Bowman said. “It’s just very difficult.”

“The current risk to the public remains minimal,” Commissioner Miller said in the release.

Both Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis and Roosevelt General Hospital in Portales told the News they have no cases of bird flu in their facilities.