By Tom Polansek and P.J. Huffstutter CHICAGO (Reuters) - Faced with a deadly bird flu outbreak that has infected millions of chickens and turkeys, the U.S. Agriculture Department could turn to what it has always seen as a last resort: readying and deploying a vaccine to fight the disease. Up to now, the USDA has said it would prefer not to allow farmers to vaccinate their flocks, as doing so could prompt wider import bans on U.S. poultry and eggs in the $5.7 billion export market. The USDA has been working to develop a vaccine that would protect chickens and turkeys from this highly contagious strain of flu. An outbreak on an Iowa egg farm that housed 3.8 million birds and had a reputation for tight biosecurity rocked the industry when it was reported on Monday and triggered tougher measures on farms to keep infections at bay.
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