Fact Check

Texas Turkey Farm Contaminated with Ebola, Over 250,000 Holiday Turkeys Infected

Have hundreds of thousands of Thanksgiving turkeys been contaminated with Ebola?

Published Nov. 10, 2014

Claim:

Claim:   Hundreds of thousands of Thanksgiving turkeys have been contaminated with Ebola.


FALSE


Examples:   [Collected via e-mail, November 2014]


A friend of mine said she saw a post on facebook regarding a large quantity of turkeys infected with ebola virus. Have you heard
anything regarding this?

 

Origins:   On 10 November 2014, the website Daily Buzz Live published an article titled "Texas Turkey Farm Contaminated with Ebola, Over 250,000 Holiday Turkeys Infected." According to that article, Texas Prime Turkey Farm employee Philip Canseco remained on the job for at least three full days after developing symptoms of Ebola, potentially contaminating scores of turkeys with the virus:



Management confirmed that Canseco worked three full work days at the facility with flu-like symptoms, before passing out unconscious with a fever of 106 [degrees]. Due to his symptoms, he was rushed to a local hazmat tent where he tested positive for the Ebola virus. The CDC reports an additional 7 coworkers are being quarantined and tested. However, they have not released those results as of yet.

The facility has been ordered by the CDC to burn their entire flock of turkeys, over 250,000. Texas Prime Turkey Farm is requesting permission from the state of Texas to send the shipment of incinerated turkey ashes to Veolia's Port Arthur environmental waste facility. This facility has already accepted one shipment of Ebola waste from household goods where Thomas Eric Duncan had stayed. Duncan was the first man to die of Ebola on US soil.

A spokesperson for Texas Prime Turkey Farm said there is a good chance Ebola turkeys may have already shipped out to major suppliers for distribution. Each retailer will have to perform recalls individually if they feel they have received a contaminated shipment.


It barely warrants mentioning there is no business named "Texas Prime Turkey Farm" anywhere in Texas, as Daily Buzz Live is a frequent offender in the starting and spreading of spurious, "satirical" claims. Among previous fake news stories peddled by the site are a totally fabricated story of a chainsaw killer at a Halloween attraction, a yarn about a woman who was being buried alive when her screams alerted funeralgoers, a claim that McDonald's uses worm meat as a filler in their hamburgers, and a rumor that new iPhone 6 units were contaminated with Ebola.

Last updated:   10 November 2014

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

Article Tags