QUARANTINE

Bird Flu Strikes Flock on Tyson-Contracted Farm

Some 73,000 birds to be euthanized.

An estimated 73,000 birds are set to be euthanized at a Tennessee farm after a deadly bird flu virus was discovered there. The farm is contracted by Tyson Foods Inc., the biggest producer of chicken products in the U.S. The discovery of the virus at the farm in Lincoln County marks the first confirmed case of H7 HPAI, or highly pathogenic avian influenza, in commercial poultry this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. Tyson released a statement saying it would euthanize the animals to prevent the virus from spreading. The farm is now under quarantine, along with about 30 other nearby poultry farms, with the birds undergoing testing for the highly contagious virus. A major outbreak of the virus in 2014 and 2015 prompted panic about U.S. imports of poultry and saw nearly 50 million birds euthanized.