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Broiler industry not affected by avian flu

Should the nation’s broiler industry be concerned about the H5N2 avian flu, the virus that has infected turkey and egg laying operations in the Midwest?

Poultry industry consultant Simon Shane says because most of the nation’s broiler production is concentrated in the southeastern U.S., he doesn’t see it becoming an issue.

“Thus far the major broiler-producing areas of the Southeast have been completely unaffected because there doesn’t appear to have been any H5N2 in the Atlantic flyway,” Shane says. “It’s mainly the Midwestern states through the Mississippi flyway, and slightly to the west of that, the Central flyway.”

The H5N2 strain has been spread by wild ducks and geese as they migrate north.

Photo courtesy of nufarmdirect.com