Bird flu battlers turn to Google

Posted on 31 May 2006 at 13:15

US poultry experts have turned to Google in the battle to beat bird flu.

Information about the location of commercial poultry flocks, feed mills and processing plants is being combined with Google Earth's high-resolution satellite images to provide a precise overview of poultry farming. By identifying the exact locations of buildings as well as nearby roads, schools and houses, scientists can plot the potential spread of the disease should it reach the country.

'Twenty years ago we had to drive around the countryside and find the chicken farm that reported a disease, but now everything is on a mapping system,' Sherrill Davison, professor of avian medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, told Reuters.

'Now, we can very quickly, within about an hour, know exactly how many farms are in an area. Then we can know which farms to send teams to for extra sampling.'

Davison's team have been monitoring poultry flocks using geographic information system technology since 1998 and have already been able to eliminate disease outbreaks in Pennsylvania. since when the system has been deployed by other states.

Author: Simon Aughton

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