Ending a five-month hiatus, highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in commercial flocks in two states — turkey farms in Utah and South Dakota — said the Agriculture Department. Some 58.97 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens and turkeys being raised for human consumption, have died in bird flu outbreaks that began in February 2022.
Outbreaks were so severe that they drove up egg prices in 2022. The latest cases were a farm with 134,200 turkeys in Sanpete County in central Utah and a farm with 47,300 turkeys in Jerauld County in eastern South Dakota, according to a USDA database. They were the first confirmed incidents in commercial flocks since April 19. Ten outbreaks were report in backyard flocks and live bird markets in the interim.
The ongoing HPAI outbreak is the worst U.S. animal disease event ever. Iowa was hit the hardest, losing 15.95 million birds. Some 50 million birds in commercial flock died in a 2014-15 outbreak. Outbreaks are more common during the cold months of the year. HPAI can wipe out a flock quickly so agricultural officials, as a matter of course, kill all the birds in an infected flock and monitor nearby farms in an effort to prevent the HPAI virus from spreading.