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Recent U.S. Avian Influenza Outbreak is a Concern For Public Health

A contagious and deadly form of avian influenza has spread across multiple states in recent weeks. The highly infectious virus has killed many farmed poultry and wild birds.

Since early January, the virus began killing chickens in northeast Canada, and it has made its way through factory farms and migrating ducks, geese, and swans from Florida to Maine. The virus has also been making its way through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, with 300 outbreaks in 19 European countries in the last few weeks. In Israel, thousands of cranes have been killed at a nature reserve.

It has also made thousands of turkeys sick in Kentucky and Indiana, which began a mass slaughter of the birds and import bans. Officials were shocked at how efficiently and quickly this virus is killing the animals, saying the animals are dying within hours of the initial infection. In Indiana, according to NY Times, the state officials have already euthanized more than 100,000 birds.

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Heat Stress in Pigs: What to Prepare for Before Next Summer - Dr. Joshua Selsby

Video: Heat Stress in Pigs: What to Prepare for Before Next Summer - Dr. Joshua Selsby

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Joshua Selsby from Iowa State University explains how heat stress affects swine biology and why now is the ideal time to prepare for next summer’s challenges. He breaks down its effects on muscle function, immune responses, and long-term metabolic outcomes. Learn how early planning can protect herd performance when temperatures rise again. Listen now on all major platforms! "Heat stress leads to a cascade of biological damage, beginning with metabolic disruption and expanding across multiple organ systems." Meet the guest: Dr. Joshua Selsby is a Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University. With over 15 years of research on skeletal muscle physiology and heat stress, he focuses on understanding how thermal stress disrupts swine metabolism, immune function, and muscle integrity.