Verification of poultry carcass composting research through application during actual avian influenza outbreaks.

An avian influenza outbreak in 2002 affected 197 poultry farms in Virginia and cost an estimated $130 million in losses and cleanup. In 2004-2005, researchers initiated a project to investigate the feasibility and practicality of in-house composting of turkey mortalities (heavy hens and toms) as a method of disposal and disease containment. Occurrences of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) in West Virginia and Virginia in 2007 provided an opportunity for first responders to verify composting as an effective carcass disposal method.