Bird flu spreads in US

The US Agriculture Department says a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has been found at a Texas poultry farm and it is far more dangerous to chickens than originally thought. They say the flock was infected with a different strain from the milder ones which have been found on several other farms in the US in the past few weeks. They say it poses a low risk to public health and it is not linked to bird flu in Asia, which has killed more than 20 people in the past few weeks. A media conference is due to release more information later today.

The US Agriculture Department says a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has been found at a Texas poultry farm and it is far more dangerous to chickens than originally thought.They say the flock was infected with a different strain from the milder ones which have been found on several other farms in the US in the past few weeks.They say it poses a low risk to public health and it is not linked to bird flu in Asia, which has killed more than 20 people in the past few weeks.A media conference is due to release more information later today.(Source: ABC Health News, Feb 2004)