About 24,000 chickens destroyed; bird flu found

SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas -- About 24,000 chickens were destroyed after avian flu was found on a Texas farm that supplies chickens to the poultry giant Pilgrim's Pride, state officials said Friday. Pilgrim's Pride, the second-largest poultry producer in the United States and Mexico, said routine blood tests indicated the bird flu infection. Bob Hillman, Texas state veterinarian, said officials did not observe any birds sick or dying from avian influenza.

"They were not seeing tremendous death losses or anything to draw attention," said Mark Michalke, a veterinarian with the Texas Animal Health Commission.

Pending tests, thousands more chickens in two commercial flocks and a smaller backyard flock within a 10-mile radius of the infected farm were quarantined, Michalke said.

Texas agriculture officials said the disease does not compromise the safety of cooked poultry.

"I don't see any reason for worry on the part of consumers as a result of what we've seen in this flock," said Dr. Max Coats, a poultry expert with the Texas Animal Health Commission.

The destroyed chickens did not produce eggs for consumption.

It was the second outbreak in Texas this year. Coats said the two outbreaks are unrelated.

Bird flu also has been detected in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey this year. A more severe avian influenza virus swept through 10 Asian nations earlier this year, killing or forcing the destruction of more than 100 million poultry.

The disease killed 16 people in Vietnam and eight in Thailand, but animal health officials say the strains that have appeared in the United States are not fatal to humans.

The Pilgrim's Pride farm, 110 miles east of Dallas and about five miles from the nearest neighboring commercial poultry farm, has been isolated and the flock was destroyed and buried Thursday, the commission said.

Officials haven't identified the source of the virus. Michalke said it may have come from waterfowl drawn to nearby catfish farms.

It could take up to 10 days to isolate the virus and study it to determine how lethal it is to birds. Officials are testing an estimated 120-160 farms within a 10-mile radius and commercial flocks within a 50-kilometer radius, Michalke said.

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Associated Press writer Betsy Blaney in Lubbock contributed to this report.