West Virginia University has two experts who can address issues surrounding the confirmed outbreak of Avian Influenza (AI) at a poultry farm in Hardy County.

Dr. June deGraft-Hanson is a poultry specialist with the WVU Extension Service. She can be reached at 304-538-2373 or 304-538-2033. David Workman is a WVU Extension agent in Hardy County. He can be reached at 304-538-2373.

On Thursday (May 9), West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass confirmed low-pathogen AI had been detected in two breeder houses on one poultry farm near Moorefield. The disease is not a threat to human health, but can be spread by people to other poultry flocks.

Commissioner Douglas quarantined the farm and its occupants to prevent the spread of the disease to other poultry houses. He also declared an agricultural state of emergency and instructed his staff to immediately begin making preparations for the depopulation and disposal of the affected birds. Approximately 13,900 birds are contained in the two houses.

Douglas said area poultry integrators, companies that buy and process birds from contract growers, have been taking periodic blood samples since an AI outbreak began in Virginia a few weeks ago. The Virginia outbreak has resulted in the quarantine of 140 farms and the depopulation of more than three million birds, according to the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.