Declining SNAP & Avian Flu Health Risk

A provision found in the 2014 Farm Bill is making it difficult for some small grocery stores to afford accepting customers using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. Some small grocery stores in Oregon may very well stop making the benefits available in their stores. The problem is that the new farm bill requires retailers to either purchase the state's machines or pay a monthly rental fee of $25 to use them. The state used to pick up the cost of the machines.

Avian influenza has affected a large portion of the U.S. including backyard flocks here in the Pacific Northwest but with all the birds being euthanized, does that mean there is a health risk to humans? Dr. Alicia Fry with the Center for Disease Control says that there is a risk.

FRY: Most human infections with avian influenza viruses have occurred in people with direct or close and prolonged contact with infected birds. This is an evolving public health situation and information may change as time goes on.

As the weather warms up experts say we should see a decline in the number of cases of the H5N2 virus. So far millions of chickens and turkeys have been affected.

That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.