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US government wants to "depopulate" poultry with bird flu

April 19, 2006
By: Josh Kranzberg
State Capital Bureau

US government officials say if bird flu shows up in US chickens or turkeys, the government will kill the whole flock.

Josh Kranzberg explains how this would affect Missouri.

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Taylor Woods, veterinarian for the Missouri Department of Agriculture, says if Missouri gets the bird flu that affects humans, it will have a devastating effect on the state. But he suggests Missouri's hot summer might actually be a help to fending off the flu.

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Contents: "We'll have less problems with bird flu in hot weather than we do in the cold weather, or even cool weather. So the sunlight can greatly diminish our problems for the bird flu this year.

Woods says chickens are still safe to eat if people cook it to 165 degrees or higher. From Jefferson City, I'm Josh Kranzberg

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With bird flu threatening to hit the US, government officials want to kill off an entire flock of chickens or turkeys if one shows signs of the disease

Josh Kranzberg explains what this means to Missouri.

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Although the bird flu hasn't hit the US yet, 200 million birds have already died around the world from the disease or slaughtered in an attempt to curtail the spread of it. But if it comes to Missouri, Department of Agriculture Veterinarian Taylor Woods says the results won't be good.

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Contents: "It'd be very devastating as far as the number of birds because we would, if we would come up with that virus, we wouldn't stop with just that one house, we'd be depopulating birds around there, I'm sure."

Woods says the USDA is continously monitoring areas for outbreaks and none have been reported so far. From Jefferson City, I'm Josh Kranzberg