Avian flu vaccine for birds being tested, ending outbreak brings challenges

(CNN, KYMA/ KECY) - New vaccines are being tested to prevent avian flu in birds, but experts say ending the historic outbreak isn't as simple as vaccination.

For more than a year, the US has been battling its biggest outbreak of avian influenza in wildlife.

The risk to humans is low.

But it's been a major threat to commercial bird flocks, particularly in the poultry industry, contributing to higher food prices.

Avian flu has also started to show up in hundreds of mammals, including a handful of pet cats.

The approach in the US right now is not vaccination, but eradication of the virus.

If farmers detect even a single case in a flock, they will put all the birds down right away.