Bird flu confirmed Sunday at a chicken farm in south central Tennessee killed thousands of chickens and put farms within six miles under quarantine.
Reuters reported that on Monday South Korea banned imports of U.S. poultry and eggs in response to the outbreak. Japan and Taiwan have also restricted imports from Tennessee. Kentucky is the 12th largest exporter of poultry and eggs in the nation according to a Business Roundtable Report. Kentucky Poultry Federation executive director Jamie Guffey said the ban has the potential to harm the state’s poultry industry.
“Any state that has high-path avian influenza has a negative effect of trade. Countries have already started blocking the entire U.S. from international trade just because of Tennessee. So it definitely would affect the ability to move product across state lines,” Guffey said.
State Veterinarian Robert Stout said commercial companies are taking “extra precautions” such as monitoring feed-trucks in an effort to keep the bird flu out of the commonwealth.According to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the quarantined flocks are under surveillance and have not had a mortality rate increase. No affected animals have entered the food chain.
