National Guard called up
to deliver water in Minnesota bird flu fight
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[April 27, 2015]
By P.J. Huffstutter
CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Minnesota State
Emergency Operations Center has called on the National Guard to deliver
water for use in the effort to contain the rapidly spreading avian flu
virus, the center said on Sunday.
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Starting Monday, 30 National Guard soldiers and 15 military water
trucks from the Willmar, Minnesota-based 682nd Engineer Battalion
and the Brooklyn Park-based A Company, 134th Brigade Support
Battalion will be used, the center said in a statement.
Large volumes of water are needed for the foam-based systems being
used to cull flocks on infected turkey farms in a bid to contain the
spread of the H5N2 virus, the statement said.
The guard members will work through Wednesday as additional water
transport resources are identified.
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The National Guard became available to be activated for such efforts
last week, after Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton declared a state of
emergency over the spread of the strain of avian flu, which has lead
to the extermination of more than 7.3 million birds in the United
States so far.
Minnesota's action followed a similar move by neighboring Wisconsin
a few days earlier.
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The highly pathogenic H5N2 strain has been identified on 49
Minnesota farms in 17 counties and affected more than 2.6 million
birds in the state, according to Minnesota state officials.
(Reporting by P.J. Huffstutter; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and
Leslie Adler)[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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