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US | Tue Apr 28, 2015 6:35pm EDT Related: U.S., HEALTH
U.S. officials predict a return of avian flu in the fall
CHICAGO | BY JULIE STEENHUYSEN AND P.J. HUFFSTUTTER
(Reuters) - ...
Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) told Reuters the H5N2 virus ? along with two other highly pathogenic strains of bird flu - will likely be passed among birds at breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canada through the summer.
...
Less than a week ago, USDA?s Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford told reporters he wasn?t ?forecasting anything for the fall.? If the virus were to reappear then, Clifford said it would likely be found along migratory paths that cross over top-producing chicken productions states such as Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
...
Based on evidence gathered so far from tracking wild and domestic birds between December and April, "it is highly probable" that the viruses will be maintained in some of the North American wild duck populations through the summer breeding season, APHIS officials said in an email.
...
?Usually these young birds are the most susceptible ones. They have no immunity. They are loaded with influenza viruses,? said Dr. Rubin Donis, an associate director for policy and preparedness in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's influenza division.
If the viruses becomes part of that breeding reservoir, ?then we may be doing control and eradication for years to come,? Donis said. ?The problem is with wildlife, there is no way to control their movements or their methods.?
As young, infected ?hatch-year? birds mingle with other hatch-year birds and adults during the migration season, ?we anticipate higher numbers of infected birds next fall to move these viruses south again, into areas in which they are currently being detected and potentially areas where we have yet to detect them,? APHIS said in the statement sent to Reuters.
...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015...lu-virus-spread-insight-idUSKBN0NJ2PC20150428
U.S. officials predict a return of avian flu in the fall
CHICAGO | BY JULIE STEENHUYSEN AND P.J. HUFFSTUTTER
(Reuters) - ...
Officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) told Reuters the H5N2 virus ? along with two other highly pathogenic strains of bird flu - will likely be passed among birds at breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canada through the summer.
...
Less than a week ago, USDA?s Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford told reporters he wasn?t ?forecasting anything for the fall.? If the virus were to reappear then, Clifford said it would likely be found along migratory paths that cross over top-producing chicken productions states such as Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
...
Based on evidence gathered so far from tracking wild and domestic birds between December and April, "it is highly probable" that the viruses will be maintained in some of the North American wild duck populations through the summer breeding season, APHIS officials said in an email.
...
?Usually these young birds are the most susceptible ones. They have no immunity. They are loaded with influenza viruses,? said Dr. Rubin Donis, an associate director for policy and preparedness in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's influenza division.
If the viruses becomes part of that breeding reservoir, ?then we may be doing control and eradication for years to come,? Donis said. ?The problem is with wildlife, there is no way to control their movements or their methods.?
As young, infected ?hatch-year? birds mingle with other hatch-year birds and adults during the migration season, ?we anticipate higher numbers of infected birds next fall to move these viruses south again, into areas in which they are currently being detected and potentially areas where we have yet to detect them,? APHIS said in the statement sent to Reuters.
...
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015...lu-virus-spread-insight-idUSKBN0NJ2PC20150428
