The U.S. is “probably 18 months or so” away from identifying a vaccine for the current strain of bird flu that has ravaged commercial poultry operations over the past two years, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said at a congressional hearing last week.
Since 2022, close to 82 million birds have been killed as a result of the H5N1 strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over 2.2 million cases have been identified in commercial or backyard flocks since the start of the year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported. Read more