Young seeking ‘new urgency’ in federal government’s bird flu response: Report

U.S. Sen. Todd Young, along with 16 other senators, is urging Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to take stronger action against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, which has severely impacted Indiana’s poultry industry. In a letter, Young emphasized the need for increased urgency as Indiana alone has lost 6.6 million egg-laying chickens and over 90,000 commercial turkeys this year. The ongoing outbreak, now in its fourth year, has led to the destruction of over 136 million birds nationwide and a small but growing number of infections among farm workers, reported NWI.com.

The senators are calling for a more aggressive vaccination strategy, including stockpiling vaccines, conducting field trials, and developing practical administration methods. They also urge collaboration between industry, university, and government experts to enhance prevention, detection, and response measures. Meanwhile, Indiana has seen new cases of HPAI in commercial duck and turkey farms, as well as quarantines in mixed-species flocks. While the CDC maintains that the risk to public health is low and no human cases have been reported in Indiana, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources suspects the virus is responsible for recent wild waterfowl deaths across several counties.