Beware bird flu, U.S. poultry industry told
Copyright 1998 Nando.net
Copyright 1998 Reuters
ATLANTA (January 23, 1998 3:55 p.m. EST http://www.nando.net) - A U.S.
poultry association official urged producers Friday to consider stocking
up on vaccines to protect their flocks against the avian flu that has
killed six people in Hong Kong.
Charles Beard, the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association's vice- president for
research and technology, said the industry should "buy insurance" by
purchasing vaccines, even though there is no indication the virus is
spreading.
"The big question right now is how much vaccine is needed," Beard told
the association's International Poultry Exposition meeting. He said
vaccination, if approved by the U.S. Agriculture Department, could
prevent major losses in the industry.
He said the highly pathogenic bird virus had not spread internationally
since it sickened 18 people last year, but he added that no one really
knew what would happen in the future.
"We have got to keep influenza from occurring in commercial poultry,"
Beard said. He outlined a priority list under which breeder stocks would
be inoculated first and sufficient egg production would be ensured to
produce more vaccine.
David Swayne at the U.S. Agriculture Department's Southeast Poultry
Research Laboratory said the risk of the flu virus spreading into the
United States was "negligible."
He said federal and state authorities performed routine surveys of
commercial poultry for influenza virus and no poultry or raw poultry
products were imported into the United States from Hong Kong.
Swayne said Hong Kong would have a massive program in place by the end
of the month to screen poultry flocks for a recurrence of the virus.
Hong Kong authorities killed 1.3 million ducks, chickens and turkeys
last month in an effort to eradicate the disease.
Beard said a recurrence of the Hong Kong bird flu in humans could affect
consumer confidence in domestic poultry supplies.
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