Insights and Stories of P.J. Huffstutter

May. 12, 2015 at 6:23 pm CDT

Reuters — The fast-spreading avian flu virus was confirmed for the first time in Nebraska, at a commercial egg-laying farm that housed a flock of 1.7 million chickens, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday. The case in Dixon County, Nebraska, brings the number of states affected by the […]

By P.J. Huffstutter

May. 11, 2015 at 7:56 pm CDT

Reuters — A strain of avian flu that until now had been found only in the western U.S. has cropped up in Indiana, bringing the total number of states affected by the virulent outbreak to 15, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday. The eastward spread of any strain of […]

By P.J. Huffstutter

Apr. 28, 2015 at 5:24 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters –– Tyson Foods, the largest U.S. poultry producer, plans to eliminate use of human antibiotics in its chicken flocks by September 2017, one of the most aggressive timetables yet set by an American poultry company. The Arkansas-based chicken and meat company also said Tuesday it is working […]

By P.J. Huffstutter

Apr. 23, 2015 at 6:56 pm CDT

Chicago | Reuters — Minnesota declared a state of emergency on Thursday over a fast-spreading strain of avian flu that has led to the extermination of more than 7.3 million birds in the country. It followed Wisconsin’s action on Monday. The highly pathogenic H5N2 strain of bird flu has been […]

By P.J. Huffstutter

Apr. 22, 2015 at 5:10 am CDT

Chicago | Reuters — Faced with a deadly bird flu outbreak that has infected millions of chickens and turkeys, the U.S. Agriculture Department could turn to what it has always seen as a last resort: readying and deploying a vaccine to fight the disease. Up to now, USDA has said […]

By P.J. Huffstutter, Tom Polansek