The virus has been detected four times in Georgia, but only in backyard flocks, including among 13 chickens and ducks earlier this month
For the first time since an outbreak in 2022, bird flu has hit commercial poultry flocks in Georgia, the US's top chicken-producing state. According to the state Department of Agriculture, a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in Elbert County.
The virus has been detected four times in Georgia, but only in backyard flocks, including among 13 chickens and ducks earlier this month in Clayton County south of Atlanta. “This is a serious threat to Georgia’s #1 industry and the livelihoods of thousands of Georgians who make their living in our state’s poultry industry,” Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper said in a news release.
All poultry operations shut in Georgia
All poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets and sales have now been suspended.
According to the release, the first clinical signs of bird flu were noticed last week at the site with around 45,000 broiler breeders. The Georgia Department of Agriculture's Emergency Management has also sent its State Agricultural Response Teams to “conduct depopulation, cleaning and disinfecting, and disposal operations."
All commercial poultry operations within a 6.2-mile (10-kilometre) radius were put under quarantine and will undergo at least two weeks of surveillance testing.
Authorities say there are already testing processes in place to make sure all chicken products sold for consumption are safe to eat. “That approach to protecting the safety of poultry products produced in Georgia will continue throughout this response and beyond,” Georgia Poultry Federation president Mike Giles said in a statement.
Bird flu’s widespread reach across America
Bird flu has been spreading, killing millions of wild and domestic birds worldwide over the last two years, among other animals.
Nationwide, the virus has been detected in 84 commercial and backyard flocks in the last month, with 10.7 million birds on those sites, according to the latest online data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It has also been confirmed in dozens of dairy farms. While human cases are rare and are mostly found among farmworkers, one person has died from bird flu—a Louisiana man over the age of 65 who was hospitalised with severe respiratory symptoms.
Moderna granted $590 million to make bird flu vaccine
The government has awarded Moderna $590 million to advance the development of its bird flu vaccine. According to Reuters, this is in addition to $176 million awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last year to complete the late-stage development and testing of a pre-pandemic mRNA-based vaccine against the H5N1 avian influenza.
The award will also support the expansion of clinical studies for up to five additional subtypes of pandemic influenza. The drugmaker said it is preparing to advance its experimental shot, mRNA-1018, into late-stage trials based on preliminary data from an early-to-mid-stage study and plans to present the data at an upcoming medical meeting.
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