So far, tests have found no avian flu at residences neighboring an Agnew-area backyard flock that was destroyed last week because some of the birds were infected with the virus.
Test results are available for the 22 samples taken from poultry in the area through last Thursday, Dr. Alan Huddleston, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Saturday.
“All [tests] were negative” for the avian flu virus, he said.
Two more samplings were taken Friday, he said.
The initial tests — which are only for the presence of avian flu, not the actual strain of the flu — take at least three days, so more results will be reported in the next few days.
But so far, there is no sign of the illness other than the initial cases at 92 Cosmos Lane.
“That’s good news,” Huddleston said.
At least five birds owned by Sherry and Gary Smith on Cosmos Lane died of the infection, prompting the destruction last Sunday of their remaining 118 geese, ducks and chickens.
A 6.2-mile — or 10-kilometer — quarantine area circling the Smiths’ property was established Tuesday.
Federal inspectors began their work Monday, even before the quarantine was put into place, going door to door within a 1.9-mile (3-kilometer) radius of the initial case to talk with people and, if they owned poultry, ask that they allow tests of the birds.
To ensure they don’t spread the virus, inspectors wear disposable, head-to-toe, white Tyvek polyethylene suits to take samples, Huddleston said, and the suits are bagged and sent to Olympia for disposal after each sampling.
Samples of fluids and feces are taken from the birds for testing.
As of Friday, teams had visited 728 premises. Of those, 39 had poultry, Huddleston said.
Samples were taken from the birds at 24 of those residences, while no samples were taken at 15 places. Two feed stores also were sampled.
The intensive surveillance, which is within the 3-kilometer zone, is expected to be wrapped up today, Huddleston said.
Inspectors then will begin visiting “high-risk” areas in the circle between the 3-kilometer and 10-kilometer boundaries of the quarantine area.
High-risk areas are those bordering waterways or wetlands, which would be expected to host high concentrations of wild birds.
Avian flu is most likely spread to domestic flocks through wild birds, according to health officials.
The state Department of Agriculture set the quarantine on the movement of eggs, domestic poultry and poultry products within the 10-kilometer area around the Smiths’ residence Tuesday.
For an interactive map of the quarantine area, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-avianflumap. Type in your address to see if your home is within the quarantine area.
The quarantine could last up to 240 days, but Huddleston has said it could be lifted earlier than that.
If avian is flu is found in the initial test, then a second test will determine if the strain is either H5N2 or H5N8, both of which are highly pathogenic and are lethal and very contagious among birds. That second test takes at least four days.
So far, that second test has not been necessary.
If it becomes necessary and the results say the strain is a highly contagious one, then a new quarantine area will be established around the new site, Huddleston said, and the process will begin again.
That’s what happened in Benton County, where two quarantine areas around two flocks with H5N2 covered some 20 miles.
No cases have been reported in neighboring Jefferson County.
In mid-December in Whatcom County, a falcon was found with the H5N8 strain and a pin-tail duck with the H5N2 strain.
A December outbreak of H5N2 in southwest British Columbia led to the destruction of nearly 250,000 chickens and turkeys.
A new outbreak was reported last week in Canyon County, Idaho, Huddleston said.
The avian flu virus has not been detected in any commercial poultry operations in the nation, including Washington state, state officials have said.
_________
Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or at leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.