US to invest additional $330m to contain bird flu outbreak

The US Government will use emergency funds amounting to $330m to help farmers affected by the outbreak and to prevent further spread of the flu.

The additional funds will be invested in paying for the indemnity claims filed by farmers with infected flocks.

The money was granted after Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s request to the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to tap emergency funds.

Before the current amount, almost $84.5m had been set aside by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the outbreak.

This brings the total amount invested in containing the bird flu to $414.5m, which is the largest amount to be spent on containment of a livestock disease outbreak, according to the Reuters.

Last week, the US Senate and House Agriculture Committee leadership said that there was a need for additional emergency financial assistance to the USDA to cover the increasing number of indemnity claims with the increase in the spread of the flu across the country.

Birds are affected by two strains of the virus, H5N2 and H5N8. The outbreak has led to the culling of more 21.6 million birds in 114 commercial operations, reported Reuters.

Scientists at the USDA research lab are also in the process of developing a new vaccine to protect poultry against the disease, which has spread to 14 states, including Minnesota, Missouri, California and Arkansas.

Arkansas is considered to be the third-largest turkey producer in the US, and also houses Tyson Foods, one of the biggest chicken companies in the country.

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Image: Close to 21.6 million birds have been killed in the US until now due to the bird flu outbreak. Photo: courtesy of njaj/freedigitalphotos.net.