Chickens are being killed to stop the spread of “avian flu” and many warn price will increase for both eggs and chicken
WASHINGTON D.C. – Since February of this year, a reported 17 states have identified the highly contagious bird flu known as H5N1. A culling of the birds has been done in multiple cases in order to prevent the birds from entering the food supply.
NBC News reports that the current outbreak is the worst bird flu outbreak since 2015. Nearly 50 million birds either died from the virus or were slaughtered during the 2015 outbreak.
Just this week the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) in conjunction with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a confirmed case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial flock of 570,000 broilers in Butler County.
HPAI is a highly contagious virus that spreads easily among birds through nasal and eye secretions, as well as manure. The virus can be spread in various ways from flock to flock, including by wild birds, through contact with infected poultry, by equipment, and on the clothing and shoes of caretakers. Wild birds can carry the virus without becoming sick, while domesticated birds can become very sick.
In a press release, the NDA stated that the farm in question is under quarantine and that the birds will be “humanely depopulated and disposed of.”
The HPAI is so contagious that the NDA is establishing a 6.2-mile control zone around the infected farm. Anyone with poultry that fall within that control zone will not be allowed to move birds or poultry products on or off their premises without permission from NDA.
The virus was initially discovered on March 7 in a wild goose in Lincoln, Neb., but was later discovered in a backyard flock of chickens in Merrick County and several wild geese in Cedar and Douglas counties, according to a press release.
16 other states have been dealing with the same virus, and many fear that the reduction of chickens through the culling process will lead to a shortage in eggs, as well as driving the price for chicken even higher than it currently is.
The total of birds currently affected in all 17 states, is over ten million. No human cases have been detected in the US and according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there is no immediate public health concern.
Wholesale broiler chicken prices were already at their highest level in at least 20 years on high consumer demand.
Wholesale chicken breast prices currently average $2.70 a pound, up just 6% from February 8, when the first HPAI case was reported in US commercial flocks.
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