25.03.2015

In response to a recent spate of avian flu across the country, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun developing vaccines to protect both commercial and backyard flocks. The agency should be ready to begin testing on chickens within two months to determine how well a vaccine can prevent the disease. While a testing schedule has been tentatively set in place, there is no word on whether the government will actually distribute avian influenza vaccines. As the USDA works toward a vaccine, culling infected flocks and testing birds around infected areas will continue to keep transmission levels down. Developing avian influenza vaccine is more of a countermeasure in case containment strategies stop working.