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State to step up tests for bird flu
Associated Press
Published October 11, 2005
TALLAHASSEE - The state Department of Agriculture will nearly quadruple the number of chickens it tests this year, primarily because of the bird flu that has swept through Southeast Asia and shown up in Romania and Turkey.
The department tested about 4,000 birds over the 12 months that ended in August. Over the next year, it will test about 15,500 chickens from back yards to major poultry farms, Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson said Monday.
"Our state veterinarians are going around the state right now, working with local veterinarians and the people who are in the poultry business, trying to keep tabs on any birds - either wild or domestic - that appear to be sick," Bronson said.
"We have not found any that's shown signs of avian influenza here in Florida, but we're going to stay vigilant about it."
The stepped-up program will be paid for in part by a $130,000 federal grant.
There have been no cases of the disease in the United States, but in last three years it has spread through Southeast Asian poultry populations and killed at least 65 people.
[Last modified October 11, 2005, 01:57:17]
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