Wisconsin’s Republican Congressional Delegation Demands Answers Following Revelations of ‘Gain-of-Function’ Biosafety Incidents at UW-Madison

Wisconsin’s Republican congressional delegation wants answers from federal health agencies following recent revelations of a biosafety lab incident at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

The so-called gain-of-function experiments at Wisconsin’s flagship public university shine a brighter light on the same scientific practices used in a lab in Wuhan, China that are suspected of unleashing the COVID-19 pandemic on the world. 

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Bird Flu Outbreak Spreads to 25 States

The number of commercial and backyard flocks with confirmed avian flu increased by 36% in the past week, according to data on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website.

Three of the 57 new cases reported were in Missouri, bringing the state total to nine cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu Influenza (HPAI) in seven counties—Bates, Dade, Gentry, Jasper, Lawrence, Ralls and Stoddard. Approximately 421,000 birds were in those flocks.

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Giles County Chicken Breeder Quarantined After Testing Positive for Avian Flu

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Tennessee state department of agriculture officials have identified a third outbreak of avian flu. A flock of chickens at a commercial poultry breeding operation has tested positive for “low pathogenic avian influenza” (LPAI). It is not the same as the China H7N9 virus affecting Asia and is genetically distinct. The facility in question is a chicken breeding operation in Giles County, near the Alabama state line. The company that operates it is a different company from the one associated with the recent detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in neighboring Lincoln County. At this time, officials do not believe one premises sickened the other. On March 6, routine screening tests at the Giles County premises indicated the presence of avian influenza in the flock. State and federal laboratories confirmed the existence of H7N9 LPAI in tested samples. “This is why we test and monitor for avian influenza,” State Veterinarian Dr. Charles Hatcher said in a statement. “When routine testing showed a problem at this facility, the operators immediately took action and notified our lab. That fast response is critical to stopping the spread of this virus.” As a precaution, the affected flock was immediately exterminated and buried; and the…

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