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U.S. Poultry Farms Defend Against Bird Flu
Exotic Newcastle hurt the industry, but forced it and the government to refine surveillance and response procedures, Corsiglia said.
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials believe farm workers who kept cockfighting roosters at home brought the disease to the egg farms where they worked. A quarantine on pet birds and commercial fowl in a 46,000-square-mile area spanning from Santa Barbara to San Diego cost federal and state agencies more than $151 million but kept the disease contained to Southern California.
  A barbed wire fence is shown separating chicken egg laying facilities at the J.S. West Milling Co. egg laying plant in Hilmar, Calif. in this April 12, 2006 file photo. Only half of Americans are confident their government will deal effectively with the bird flu if it reaches the U.S., and they want strong steps including human quarantine and closed schools if there's an outbreak in the population, according to a AP-Ipsos survey. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, Files) (Ben Margot - AP) Updated Financial FeaturesSave & Share |
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"That was kind of like a dry run," Corsiglia said. "We never had it up here (in Northern California), which was actually very good because it showed the system really works."
Exotic Newcastle lingered for years in California during an outbreak in the 1970s, but the 2002-2003 outbreak was eradicated in less than a year, said Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Silva keeps a brown foam chick in the center console of his truck. It's made for squeezing _ a stress-buster.
He's not squeezing yet. Silva has invested $250,000 since 2002 in biosecurity measures. But like many in the industry, he worries that a Chicken Little, sky-is-falling panic may be his business' worst enemy.
"It's not in the United States. It's not even close to the United States," he said of bird flu. Tens of thousands of Americans die each year from "regular" flu, Silva said. "And we're worried about this bird flu?"
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On the Net: California Poultry Federation: http://www.cpif.org/
