Bird flu found in Tennessee chicken flock on Tyson-contracted farm

New York

A STRAIN of bird flu has been detected in a chicken breeder flock on a Tennessee farm contracted to US food giant Tyson Foods Inc, and the 73,500 birds will be culled to stop the virus from entering the food system, government and company officials said on Sunday.

The US Department of Agriculture said this represented the first confirmed case of highly pathogenic H7 avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry in the United States this year. It is the first time HPAI has been found in Tennessee, the state government said.