Avian Flu Found on Turkey Farms Supplying Butterball

Avian Flu Found on Turkey Farms Supplying Butterball

Butterball confirms ‘limited number of turkeys’ on Missouri, Arkansas farms have H5N2 avian flu

By Kelsey Gee in the Wall Street Journal

A highly contagious strain of bird flu has infected Arkansas and Missouri turkey farms that supply Butterball LLC, escalating a multistate outbreak and raising the prospect of wider international-trade restrictions on U.S. poultry products.

Butterball, one of the largest U.S. turkey processors, confirmed Wednesday that it determined “a limited number of our turkeys” from contract farms had been diagnosed with H5N2 avian influenza.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier Wednesday confirmed the virus in an unidentified commercial flock of 40,020 turkeys in Arkansas, after this week confirming the disease in a flock in Missouri. The outbreaks follow similar cases in other states in recent months that have sparked import restrictions on U.S. poultry by countries including China and Mexico. No human cases of the H5N2 virus have been detected in the U.S., and the strain poses a low risk to human health, USDA officials said.

The latest discoveries, especially in major poultry producer Arkansas, are elevating concerns that the H5N2 strain could disrupt production in the heart of poultry country. Arkansas, home to Tyson Foods Inc., is the third-largest chicken producer and second in turkey. Georgia and Alabama process the largest number of broiler chickens.

Shares of some major poultry companies fell sharply Wednesday. Tyson shares recently were down 5.5%, Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. dropped 6.3% and Sanderson Farms Inc. slid 5.8%.

following the Arkansas case, state officials quarantined the premises, and birds on the property will be exterminated to prevent meat from infected animals entering the food supply chain, and to prevent further spread of the virus, the USDA said in a statement.

“Our first concern is always the health and safety of the people who enjoy our products as well as the care and well-being of our turkeys,” Butterball said.

Butterball, based in Garner, N.C., is jointly owned by conglomerate Seaboard Corp. and Goldsboro Milling Co. It owns processing plants across the Midwest and produces about 1 billion pounds of turkey each year, according to Seaboard securities filings.

The viruses in Arkansas and Missouri are similar to the H5N8 strain that originated in Asia and spread across the Pacific flyway at the start of the year along migratory pathways, mixing with North American avian influenza viruses, according to the USDA, and first confirmed in the Mississippi flyway this month. The virus is thought to be transmitted through droppings of infected birds, which sometimes don't display symptoms of illness.

“Wild migratory birds are heading north as the spring approaches, so there is just an unbelievable amount of risk out there” for infection, said Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, a trade group.

The U.S. outbreak began in noncommercial poultry flocks in the Pacific Northwest. Since December, the USDA has confirmed the highly pathogenic strain in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Minnesota and Missouri.

China—a major buyer of U.S. turkey and chicken—in January banned imports of all U.S. poultry and eggs because of the virus’s spread. About 30 countries have imposed restrictions on imports of poultry products from certain U.S. counties, states or the entire country.

Some countries this week immediately imposed bans on imports of poultry products originating or processed in Missouri, and the Arkansas case is expected to trigger similar restrictions.

“The fear is that Arkansas is not the end of [the virus’s spread], since next to the state there’s Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and other major poultry producers,” said Thomas Elam, president of industry consulting firm Farm Econ LLC. “All of the major countries that have experienced outbreaks have survived, and we will too, but it’ll be uncomfortable and cost these companies some money as export opportunities are lost.”

Though most viruses that affect birds don’t cause disease in people, some, such as H7N9 identified earlier this year in Canada, can make humans sick.

The U.S. turkey industry is projected to produce 6.1 billion pounds of meat this year, compared with 40 billion pounds of broiler chicken meat, according to USDA data released this week. Around 12.6% of turkey production is expected to be exported this year, versus 18% for chicken.

Phil Stayer, corporate veterinarian at Laurel, Miss.-based Sanderson Farms, said the company, one of the largest U.S. chicken processors, in recent days put a halt to “unnecessary traffic” to and from chicken houses in the form of visits by feed and medical suppliers, which are now being held off-site or have been postponed.

A Tyson Foods spokesman said the company has “biosecurity” measures in place, and its contract poultry farms have “been even more diligent since [avian flu] has been in the U.S. this winter.”

—Jacob Bunge contributed to this article.