LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska authorities have lifted a quarantine from a Knox County chicken egg farm because follow-up tests did not confirm the presence of avian flu.
The Nebraska Agriculture Department imposed the quarantine on the Knox County farm on May 27 after a preliminary test indicated the probably presence of the bird flu. The flock of 3 million birds was tested daily since, and the department says all the tests came back negative.
The department said in its weekly flu report Tuesday that flu has been confirmed at five Nebraska operations and that nearly 5 million chickens are being destroyed to help control outbreak.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the virus has affected more than 48 million birds nationally — mostly turkeys and egg-laying chickens.
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