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Avian flu is focus of Des Moines meeting

Poultry industry officials and government researchers will meet in Des Moines this week to discuss avian influenza.

The discussions will focus on what caused the outbreak in the Midwest this spring and next steps should the virus reemerge this fall and next spring.

Dr. Jack Shere with USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) says one of their concerns is that the virus could spread beyond the Midwest and affect major poultry-producing areas of the southeastern U.S.

“We’ve seen it in the Western and Pacific Flyway and we’ve seen it so far in the Central Flyway with the Mississippi and Missouri Flyways,” Shere says. “We know that it’s gradually moved across and we’re considering that fact that it’s probably going to be in the eastern flyways this fall.”

The meeting in Des Moines, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, is coordinated by the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad are scheduled to speak on Tuesday morning.

AUDIO: Dr. Jack Shere