A bird flu virus has once again been found in the Midwest.
This time, the virus was found in a large commercial turkey farm in Indiana. This strain of avian flu is different than the one that devastated the egg and turkey industries in the U.S. last year. TJ Myers of the U.S. Agriculture Department says it’s H7N8.
“Regardless of what those numbers are, it is a highly pathogenic virus, which means it is a significant virus that does need an immediate response in order to contain it," he says.
That response includes killing 60,000 birds, quarantining the farm and setting up a six-mile control zone around the area. There are no known cases of the H7N8 infections in humans. Nearly 50 million birds were lost to avian flu last year.
“We are hopeful that as we respond very quickly to this virus that we can get it contained and hopefully not see an extensive outbreak like we did last year," Myers says.
Already, there are restrictions on exports from the infected area in Indiana and concerns that it will affect international trade.
