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Ark. hens test positive for bird-flu exposure

15,000 Ark. hens test positive for bird-flu exposure

LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Tyson Foods Inc. has begun killing and burying the

carcasses of 15,000 hens in northwest Arkansas that tested positive for

exposure to a strain of the avian flu that is not harmful to humans, state

officials said Tuesday.

Jon Fitch, director of the state's Livestock and Poultry Commission, said

routine blood tests conducted Friday found the possible exposure. Further

tests done by the state and the U.S. Department of Agriculture found the

birds did not have active infections, but rather were exposed to a subtype

of the disease.

Fitch said the company immediately began disposing of the birds.

" There is absolutely no human health threat, " Fitch said. " But we take this

very seriously. "

Fitch said state officials decided against announcing the infection to the

general public because the birds tested positive for exposure to the H7N3

strain of the virus. The strain that ravaged Asian poultry stocks in late

2003 was H5N1 bird flu virus. That version of the virus has killed 240

people worldwide and scientists worry it could mutate into a form that

spreads easily among people.

Mickelson, a spokesman for Springdale-based Tyson, said the hens showed

no signs of sickness before their pre-slaughter blood tests. He said the

exposed birds all came from a contractor.

" As a preventive measure, Tyson is also stepping up its surveillance of

avian influenza in the area, " Mickelson said in a statement. " The company

plans to test all breeder farms that serve the local Tyson poultry complex,

as well as any farms within a 10-mile radius of the affected farm. "

Matt DeCample, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe, said the governor was

alerted about the tests Monday.

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