The ban on public bird shows and sales has been lifted because the threat of the spread of avian flu has decreased. However, the threat of the outbreak will never end, according to state and industry officials. This means that some of the measures adopted within the past few months will become common practice to protect North Carolina’s $5 billion poultry-growing industry. The deadly strain of the flu has not been seen since June, but government and industry officials are still keeping an eye out for another outbreak. Last month, officials from the poultry industry and universities held an emergency response exercise to walk through the first 72 hours of a potential outbreak. 

SOURCE: The News & Observer