US plans new strategy to tackle bird flu

MINNEAPOLIS — With egg prices soaring, the administration of US President Donald Trump is planning a new strategy for fighting bird flu that stresses vaccinations and tighter biosecurity instead of killing off millions of chickens when the disease strikes a flock.

The federal government will seek "better ways, with biosecurity and medication and so on" rather than the current standard practice of destroying all the birds on a farm when an infection is detected, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said recently on the CBS program Face the Nation.

Hassett said the administration planned to announce further details this week. He said they were "working with all the best people in government, including academics around the country and around the world", to get the plan ready.

Spokespeople for the US Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to messages on Tuesday seeking more information.

Normally when chickens or turkeys start dying from the disease, officials will "depopulate", or destroy all the birds on the farm to prevent it from spreading.

But the resulting culling of millions of chickens per month has caused egg prices to skyrocket, with shortages that have led some retailers to ration sales. The average price of a dozen Grade A eggs in US cities hit $4.95 in January, and the USDA predicts it will soar another 20 percent this year.

Hassett didn't provide many details of how the Trump administration's new approach would work. But he said it would involve a "better, smarter perimeter" around poultry farms. He said it doesn't make sense to kill all the chickens inside that perimeter when the disease is being spread by wild ducks and geese.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told "Fox and Friends" that her first briefing after being sworn in was on bird flu.

"We are looking at every possible scenario to ensure that we are doing everything we can in a safe, secure manner but also to ensure that Americans have the food that they need," Rollins told Fox News.

The poultry industry has long resisted vaccinating flocks against bird flu because of the potential impacts on export markets, as well as the expense. Most US trading partners won't accept exports from countries that allow vaccinations due to concerns that vaccines can mask the presence of the virus.

"We support the administration and their goals to bring down food inflation and cut regulatory red tape and hopefully eliminate this virus," said Tom Super, spokesman for the National Chicken Council, which represents the broiler industry that produces chickens for meat. But he said in an interview that producers need "robust trade protection" to ensure they don't lose markets.

Agencies via Xinhua