USDA developing bird flu vaccine, no plans to use it

USDA scientists are working on a poultry vaccine against avian influenza with no immediate plans to use it, says Reuters. A test is expected within a couple of months at a poultry-disease lab in Georgia. A USDA official told Reuters the vaccine would complement the traditional approach of quarantining and culling flocks when the disease is detected. It would not be practical to try to vaccinate all the commercial poultry flocks in the country, he said. Development of vaccines in response to lethal viruses is routine, according to the official. The director of the Georgia poultry lab told Reuters that an existing vaccine was tested against the bird flu strains now active in the United States, but that vaccine was not as effective as desired.

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