OH, GOODY: U.S. Officials Expect Bird Flu to Return in the Fall.

Officials with the Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said the H5N2 virus, along with two other highly pathogenic strains of bird flu, would probably be passed among birds at breeding grounds in the northern United States and Canada through the summer.

The strains are difficult to control, say scientists, in part because wild birds can carry the viruses without appearing to be sick.

The statement marks a shift in tone in the agency’s assessment of the likelihood for a renewed outbreak tied to fall migration. More than 15 million commercial birds nationwide have died or are expected to be killed in the current outbreak, and exports of U.S. poultry and eggs have slowed sharply.

We need better antivirals.