U.S. health officials have activated the emergency bird flu plan after confirmation that the deadly virus has struck a turkey farm in Indiana. Officials are currently assessing the threat the outbreak poses to the public whilst exercising extra precautions following last years outbreak which led to the deaths of over 48 million chickens and turkeys. Cnbc.com reports: Strains similar to the new virus, known as H7N8, have on rare occasions made people ill and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state officials aim to reduce the risk of human infection. They also want to blunt the impact on the poultry industry, which suffered billions of dollars in losses in last year’s outbreak. Egg supplies shrank and prices surged to record highs. “We are hopeful that as we respond very quickly to this virus that we can get it contained and hopefully not see an extensive outbreak like we did last year,” said T.J. Myers, an associate deputy administrator for the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Even if the response is fast, the government’s ability to contain the disease is far from certain. Officials have never dealt with this strain [...]