Meanwhile, $111 million of the funding will allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to better equip jurisdictions to monitor people exposed to the virus and to boost the production and distribution of diagnostic test kits. The remaining $11 million will be awarded by the National Institutes of Health for more research on countermeasures against the H5N1 virus.
Virus strikes more poultry, suspected in wild bird die-off
In other developments, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today confirmed more poultry outbreaks in two states.
In South Carolina, the virus turned up at a gamebird producer in Spartanburg County, the state’s first detection since May. The virus was also confirmed in Miner Country, South Dakota, in a poultry flock that has 1,500 birds.
Elsewhere, the Pennsylvania Game Commission said yesterday that avian flu is suspected in the deaths of about 200 snow geese found on December 30 in the greater Allentown area. The dead birds were recovered from two sites, one in Northampton County and the other in Lehigh County. Results haven't been confirmed yet, but officials said avian flu is suspected, because sick wild birds were also observed at the two locations.
Over the past few weeks, wildlife officials in other states have issued warnings about deaths in wild birds, including neighboring Ohio, as well as Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Louisiana.
Source : umn.edu