The deadly bird flu virus, H5N2, is a new mutant that has been plaguing poultry production in Europe and Asia for years, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said. Large outbreaks of the virus has been reported from Taiwan to Ireland. The best guess is that migrating ducks or geese carried the virus across the Pacific to the west coast of North America. The Department of Agriculture is urging producers to protect their flocks by sweeping up spilled feed that might attract wild ducks, by disinfecting boots and equipment between poultry houses and even by watching for dust blown. Exports have already fallen—even though just a few million birds have been affected so far out of billions slaughtered every year.
