The United States government is developing a new bird flu vaccine to protect poultry from new strains of avian flu.

Within two months, scientists at a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) research lab in Georgia will test the vaccine on chickens to see how well it prevents them from getting sick and dying of the virus, which the government says is spread by wild birds.

Progress toward creating a vaccine has not previously been reported. It comes after the H5N8 and H5N2 flu strains have infected commercial poultry operations and backyard flocks in eight states since December.

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