Disease discovered on US pheasant farm
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has destroyed about 1200 pheasants at its Downar Bird Farm near Torrington in southeastern Wyoming, USA after discovering a disease in the birds that can infect humans.
The department said that workers found some birds with cecal worms, which are not uncommon. The Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory confirmed an agent in some birds that can cause psittacosis. The disease can cause fever and other flu-like symptoms in humans, though none of the workers at the bird farm has exhibited signs of the illness.
Fewer than 50 human cases are reported in the US each year, and no human cases of the disease have been reported in Wyoming since 2000.
Game and Fish Wildlife chief Brian Nesvik says it’s unclear if the disease will affect this years pheasant releases.
Source: Associated Press
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