Rather than an incubator of bird flu that could doom the masses,
U.S. chicken farms might actually help isolate American poultry from
infection with avian flu.
Correspondent Tom Costello reported on the April 23
NBC Nightly News that widespread avian flu is highly unlikely
among American chickens, given the closed environment most are
raised in.
Some 99 percent of the chickens consumed in America
are raised inside massive houses that hold up to 30,000 at a time.
And so far, bird flu is only carried by wild birds that could never
get inside, Costello noted. From here these chickens will go to
processing plants, then to dinner tables, really never having seen
the light of day and, for that matter, never being exposed to wild
birds, the correspondent added while walking through a chicken coop
in a protective suit.
Costello also reported that the National Chicken
Council, an industry group for the poultry industry, is urging blood
tests on chicken farms to allow for quicker detection and
destruction of infected birds.
In March, the Business & Media Institute noted how the
media have hyped fears of
avian flu coming to the United States.
NBC: Chicken Farms Shield U.S. Poultry from Avian Flu
April 24th, 2006 2:00 PM
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