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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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WPX: How PIC’s Pork Chop Studio is transforming pork quality evaluation

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Today's consumers expect high quality flavorful protein options in an increasingly competitive marketplace and meeting that expectation starts with better data.

Clay Eastwood, PhD, applied meat scientist with PIC, was recently interviewed by The Pig Site’s Sarah Mikesell at the 2026 World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, US about how PIC's innovative imaging platform replaces subjective scoring with objective data, helping strengthen genetic selection for more consistent, high-quality pork