Chicken (Photo : Reuters)
A vaccine is being developed by the U.S. government to battle the new strain of avian flu that already killed a number of birds in Washington and Arkansas.
The new vaccine will be tested by scientists in Georgia at a U.S. Department of Agriculture research lab within the next two months. Its effects on protecting poultry from the avian flu will be observed.
There have been no previous reports that the U.S. government has been developing a vaccine for the recently discovered H5N2 and H5N8 flu strains, which have made its way to eight states in the U.S. since December 2014, infecting both backyard flocks and commercial poultry, according to Reuters.
Overseas buyers of poultry from the U.S. have limited their purchases to minimize the risk of infecting other birds.
Sanderson Farms and Tyson Foods, two of the largest poultry producers in the world, have reinforced their farms' biosecurity.
Mark Jackwood, who heads the Department of Population at the University of Georgia, said that vaccines may be used once the avian flu cannot be contained anymore.
Currently, the new strain does not pose any danger for humans, but health commissioner Timothy Angel from Ross Country said that it could still mutate and infect the human population.
"There's no danger to people right now, but we'd like to get the word out to farmers or to anyone who might have flocks of turkey or chicken in the area and let them know what to look for," said Angel.
Ohio's Department of Agriculture said that poultry raisers should check out for the signs of the flu, including unusual sneezing, decrease in egg production, lethargy and depression.
Separating domestic flocks away from wild birds is highly recommended, according to Chillico the Gazette.
Ben Avery, director of Environmental Health at Ross County said that turkey and chicken are still safe to eat. However, they should be cooked on proper temperatures of 165 degrees before eating.
