US President Joe Biden’s administration is considering mass vaccination of chickens against bird flu to stop the epidemic that caused mass chicken deaths, a White House National Security Council spokesman said in a March 6 comment to the The Hill newspaper.
“There are a number of options that the United States regularly considers when outbreaks occur that could affect the safety of the United States food supply.a White House spokesman said. We are currently focused on promoting and strengthening high-performance biosafety practices and procedures.”.
These safety procedures include efforts to prevent the transmission of avian influenza through increased disinfection among workers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) monitors the risk of avian influenza to humans, which is considered low. The USDA is responding to all cases of flu in the bird population, and the agency has begun testing potential poultry vaccines. So far, none of these vaccines has been approved for use.
On March 6, The New York Times reported that the US Agricultural Research Service was developing its own vaccines that could be introduced faster than newly developed ones. The agency is expected to receive the first results no earlier than May.
The bird flu outbreak in the US began in 2022 and has infected more than 50 million birds in 47 states, both in the wild and on farms. The disease has killed millions of infected birds, which in turn has driven up the price of eggs, turkey and chicken, and reduced farmers’ incomes. The average price for a dozen eggs in January was $4.82, up from $1.93 a year earlier.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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