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GEORGIA'S PREPARED FOR AVIAN FLU
By Kay Harris (The Valdosta Daily Times)
July 15, 2006
Valdosta ? Georgia has been proactive in developing a plan to combat the avian flu, should the disease fly past the U.S. defense systems in place.
Dr. Robert R. Kennedy Jr., a doctor of veterinary medicine, informed the more than 200 in attendance Thursday at the Southeast Agricultural Coalition Awards Banquet that the state is well prepared in the event of an outbreak.
?If Georgia were a country, we?d be the fifth largest poultry producer in the world,? said Kennedy, with more than 25 million pounds of chicken meat produced daily.
Avian flu, more commonly referred to as bird flu, is a respirator illness found in birds that is caused by a virus. There have been cases in other countries of humans contracting the disease from infected birds, and as it is carried by wild waterfowl, any domestic flock allowed to mix with wild birds is at risk.
Although bird flu has not yet reached America, Kennedy said it?s a question of ?not if, but when.? Due to migration patterns, the flu will most likely affect the West Coast first, and would hopefully be eradicated before spreading, he said.
According to Kennedy, with the protections America has in place for poultry, what is raised here is safe enough to eat raw, but is absolutely safe enough to eat cooked. The only way the diseases will spread to humans in the United States is ?if someone comes on an airplane into the country with the virus.?
Kennedy said the state has been working with the Department of Homeland Security since 2002 to ensure that a workable plan is in place in the event any flock tests positive for the flu, and according to Kennedy, ?the state office says we?ve got it under control.?
For information about bird flu, visit www.nationalchickencouncil.com.
Source: www.valdostadailytimes.com/business/local_story_196161752.html?keyword=secondarystory
By Kay Harris (The Valdosta Daily Times)
July 15, 2006
Valdosta ? Georgia has been proactive in developing a plan to combat the avian flu, should the disease fly past the U.S. defense systems in place.
Dr. Robert R. Kennedy Jr., a doctor of veterinary medicine, informed the more than 200 in attendance Thursday at the Southeast Agricultural Coalition Awards Banquet that the state is well prepared in the event of an outbreak.
?If Georgia were a country, we?d be the fifth largest poultry producer in the world,? said Kennedy, with more than 25 million pounds of chicken meat produced daily.
Avian flu, more commonly referred to as bird flu, is a respirator illness found in birds that is caused by a virus. There have been cases in other countries of humans contracting the disease from infected birds, and as it is carried by wild waterfowl, any domestic flock allowed to mix with wild birds is at risk.
Although bird flu has not yet reached America, Kennedy said it?s a question of ?not if, but when.? Due to migration patterns, the flu will most likely affect the West Coast first, and would hopefully be eradicated before spreading, he said.
According to Kennedy, with the protections America has in place for poultry, what is raised here is safe enough to eat raw, but is absolutely safe enough to eat cooked. The only way the diseases will spread to humans in the United States is ?if someone comes on an airplane into the country with the virus.?
Kennedy said the state has been working with the Department of Homeland Security since 2002 to ensure that a workable plan is in place in the event any flock tests positive for the flu, and according to Kennedy, ?the state office says we?ve got it under control.?
For information about bird flu, visit www.nationalchickencouncil.com.
Source: www.valdostadailytimes.com/business/local_story_196161752.html?keyword=secondarystory