MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Some scientists say that eastern U.S. poultry producers should brace for the potential arrival of a deadly bird flu virus outbreak that farmers in the Midwest have struggled to stop.
The fear is that if the virus isn't already lurking in the Atlantic Flyway, it could spread there this fall when wild ducks fly south for the winter. Donna Carver, extension veterinarian at North Carolina State University, says producers there are preparing for the worst.
H5N2 avian influenza has turned up since December in poultry farms and wild birds in the Pacific and Central flyways. But it's done the most damage in the Mississippi Flyway, especially in Minnesota, the country's top turkey producing state. Midwest and Ontario producers have lost over 2 million turkeys and chickens since early March.
