With the dreaded bird flu expected to hit the United States this coming summer, poultry experts are already making plans on how to quarantine the virus as quickly and effectively as possible. By mapping out every single poultry farm and the entire surrounding area, they hope to be able to react quickly when an infection is reported and create a "buffer zone" around the originating farm. A lot of work, without a doubt.
However, in these modern times, these experts have one very handy tool at their disposal: Google Earth. In a recent interview with Reuters, Sherrill Davison, a professor of avian medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, says, "We began using Google Earth to help us locate poultry farms more exactly. In the past we knew the chicken house was on a parcel of land but now we can zoom in and tell exactly where on the property it is." That ability to quickly and accurately locate the farm's location may be the very difference between a massive outbreak and a successful quarantine.
News source: Reuters
-1 Comments - Add comment