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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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Decoding Pig Performance With AI And Transcriptomics - Dr. Maria Walsh

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The Swine it Podcast Show, Dr. Maria Walsh, Chief Operating Officer at Biofractal, explains how transcriptomics and AI are helping swine producers better understand the gap between genetic potential and commercial performance. Dr. Walsh discusses metabolic efficiency, disease resilience, PRRS challenges, and practical on-farm biological insights using blood samples and AI-powered analysis. She also explains how nutrition, health, and production data can work together to improve decision-making. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Gene expression data provides biological insight into how pigs respond to nutrition, stress, and health challenges before visible production losses occur."