Plan now for next bird flu outbreak

This spring's outbreak of bird flu infected millions of chickens and turkeys in Iowa, had an economic impact of about $427 million and resulted in the loss of nearly 8,500 jobs, according to an Iowa Farm Bureau Federation study released last week.

Another outbreak is likely, experts say, as temperatures fall and wet weather returns to our region.

Clearly, the time to plan our response is now.

More than that, experts must dedicate themselves to preventive measures, such as reviewing biosecurity protocols and developing an effective vaccine, and to long-term strategies that will mitigate the economic effects of large-scale outbreaks.

Iowa, the heart of the country's egg industry, has been the hardest hit by the disease. According to the Farm Bureau study, the recent outbreak affected 77 Iowa farms, resulting in the loss of 34 million birds. It will take as many as three years for affected producers to recover. Consumers also will pay in the form of higher prices for eggs and poultry.

On Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley will hold a roundtable discussion with producers in Storm Lake to discuss lessons learned from the outbreak and what more needs to be done when Congress reconvenes in September.

Already, Grassley and Sen. Joni Ernst have called on the USDA to increase resources and cut red tape that made it difficult for some producers to receive payments intended to mitigate the financial effect of the outbreak. Grassley's office told us last week he also is exploring the idea of proposing additional disaster assistance programs for poultry producers.

These are important efforts.

But relying on disaster funding can only be a short-term strategy. Given what we know about the disease, and the inevitability of future outbreaks, significant effort must be spent on developing a sustainable long-term plan.

USDA efforts to develop a vaccine are encouraging, but even an effective vaccine program - which is not without its complications - likely would only mitigate the effects of the disease, which is found in many wild bird populations.

Another proposal worth exploring would create public or private insurance programs to protect specifically against damages incurred by bird flu.

Disaster preparedness and response is important, but given the seeming inevitability of subsequent outbreaks, it can only be the beginning.

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