Avian influenza found in South Carolina

[Folly's place]

More misleading/ not so good information about Ivermectin. It's a wonderful drug as a wormer, not so much as an anti-viral.
And it's not approved for use in chickens for anything, sadly.
No actual anti-viral meds are to be used in food producing animals, lest those drugs become less effective for us!!!
Mary

 

[Sonya9]

Anyone's opinion on hatching eggs from Flordia? NPIP farm?
I am considering entering a contest with hatching eggs as a prize, but just realized they're from Florida..... Not sure if I'm going accept the prize if I win.

JMO but influenza viruses do not live very long on surfaces, even damp surfaces, so hatching eggs should be fine. Even if the virus passed through the shell it would die in a couple of days and couldn't survive shipping.

 

[Folly's place]

I think I read somewhere that this AI will kill embryos in affected eggs. It was in an early report, so not positive that it's true. Anyone remember?
Mary

 

[Sonya9]

More misleading/ not so good information about Ivermectin. It's a wonderful drug as a wormer, not so much as an anti-viral.
And it's not approved for use in chickens for anything, sadly.
No actual anti-viral meds are to be used in food producing animals, lest those drugs become less effective for us!!!
Mary

Misleading information? I provided links to legit sources. Like many veterinary drugs it has been used off-label in birds for decades and will never be approved because the market does not warrant spending a fortune on FDA approval.

I am not concerned about a drug like Ivermectin becoming less effective in random humans, I am concerned about the health and well-being of my birds. That especially applies in the case of Ivermectin since it is used by tens of millions of canines as a *prophylactic* each and every month; it is also widely used on cattle and pork. A few backyard flocks treated once means nothing when compared to its repetitive use tens of millions of animals.

 

[Folly's place]

I was talking about actual anti-viral meds, not used in any livestock species!
Mary

 

[AgnesGray]

Ivermectin is a broad spectrum antiviral that works against a whole slew of viruses including avian influenza. Can also be used for avian mites, fly strike, feline ear mites, canine heart worm, etc...

I keep a bottle of it in the fridge and if my birds suddenly came down with a flu like illness I would consider using it. WARNING -- calculating the proper dose for a tiny 2-6 lb animal is not easy (it is measured by the drop) and mistakes can be fatal.

Two articles below; using Ivermectin in chickens and a study on Ivermectin's effectiveness against a variety of viruses including avian influenza.
https://www.poultrypages.com/ivermectin-for-chickens/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7564151/

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Agree - and we keep a bottle of it on hand as well.

 

[AgnesGray]

I was talking about actual anti-viral meds, not used in any livestock species!
Mary

From the link shared above that is on the NIH (government run research hospital website). (I read another article about it specifically used to treat HPAI from the same site which I will try to find.):

4. Ivermectin as an Antiviral​

Consistent with the fact that many viruses are known to rely on IMPα/β1-dependent nuclear import of specific viral proteins for robust infection [14,27,28], ivermectin has been confirmed in a body of in vitro studies to be active in limiting infection by a range of different RNA viruses [10,14], including HIV-1 [7], DENV (all four serotypes) and related flaviviruses [8,11,12], influenza, and alphaviruses such as Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) and chikungunya [9,15,16] (see Table 1); it is also active against DNA viruses [18,19,20]. Recent studies indicate it is a potent inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 [17].

Edit to add: ivermectin is prescribed by my vet frequently for a livestock dewormer. Including animals destined to be food.

 

[Unicornlife3316]

Avian flu found in Erath County, TX.

 

[3KillerBs]

No actual anti-viral meds are to be used in food producing animals, lest those drugs become less effective for us!!!

Very important point.

We may love our pets, but humans are more important.

 

[TJAnonymous]

A couple of weeks ago I spoke with the head vet for the Poultry Dept at University of Arkansas (think Tyson country....). We discussed the use of Ivermectin as a treatment for HPAI. Ivermectin IS effective against AI in people. Studies have never been done on poultry. When I asked about this as a potential option, he mentioned he would bring it up at a meeting which would be attended by researchers from a Level 3 biolab in Atlanta who are already doing research testing on HPAI. He indicated that treatment with Ivermectin could be difficult with commercial farms since birds would have to be treated through a water source or individually. It would be hard to ensure each bird gets the right dose....something that would be next to impossible at a commercial farm with millions of birds. He also said that they have to go through extra special review since this would have to be cleared for meat & eggs intended for human consumption.....which is a far higher bar to pass than just treating a sick animal.

He said the fatality rate for HPAI is 95% which is why the fed govt will mandate 100% cull of any birds on your farm if a positive case is found. They will do this with or without your permission. They all preach biosecurity, which is definitely good practice, but not fool-proof if you can't keep out wild birds. I have a flock of 58 birds in my main coop and 15 in my Silkie coop. If HPAI pops up in my state, I will build a small covered run inside my large chicken run for the purpose of keeping wild birds out. However, if any of my birds show any signs of HPAI, I wouldn't hesitate to try the Ivermectin. What do I have to lose? If it works in poultry as it works in humans, great! If not, I'm likely to lose my entire flock anyway....so again, nothing to lose.