(Newswire.net — May 15, 2015) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts declared a state of emergency on Thursday after bird’s flu outbreak in the state.
The decision was made after federal agricultural officials confirmed a second farm site tested positive for the disease, Reuters reported. After Wisconsin and Minnesota declared bird flu emergency, the top egg-producing state in the United States, Iowa declared a state of emergency on May 1st. Nebraska is the fourth state to declared an avian flu emergency.
“This declaration give us additional tools to effectively deal with this disease. We have a poultry sector valued at $1.1 billion, so obviously the impacts of avian influenza will be far-reaching,” said Ricketts at a press conference.
The virus has led to the extermination of more than 33 million chickens and turkeys in 16 states.
“The Nebraska Department of Agriculture is coordinating with several state agencies for a thorough, expeditious response,” said Ricketts adding that avian influenza is a serious situation for US poultry sector.
“I want to provide responders with access to all appropriate tools to address it,” he said.
Ricketts said that the state is already beneficiary of emergency funds and other state agencies who have the power to track, monitor and respond to confirmed cases of the virus throughout the state.
Emergency state grants agencies extermination, disinfection and disposal powers, and lets them conduct surveillance and early detection practices to stop the spread of the disease, Reuters reported.
“Having a second farm in Nebraska confirmed to have HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) is unfortunate but not completely unexpected,” Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Greg Ibach told reporters, according to Reuters.
Both Nebraska farms are under quarantine, Ibach said adding that about 3.5 million chickens have been exterminated or died of the disease.
With the record bird’s flu outbreak, he US poultry and egg industry have been struggling for months, the Reuters reported.