Worrisome signs of mammal-to-mammal spread of bird flu
The ongoing bird flu outbreak is the largest ever in Europe and North America, and recent reports suggest the disease has passed from mammal to mammal, raising the risk of a spillover into humans, said a U.S. medical journal. The director general of the World Health Organization said that while the risk to people remained low, the reported infections in mink, otters, and sea lions “must be monitored closely.”
After holiday peak, egg prices trending downward
Wholesale egg prices are down more than $1 a dozen since hitting a record daily average price of $5.40 a dozen in the week before Christmas, said USDA economists in the monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry report.
Bird flu losses break record
A record 50.54 million birds in domestic flocks have died of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or were culled to prevent spread of the viral disease since February, according to USDA data.
White House bolsters security for food and ag sector
The federal government will keep a closer eye on threats to the U.S. food supply, such as cyberattacks and pandemic diseases, under a national security memorandum signed by President Biden.
Bird flu losses near U.S. record with outbreak on Iowa egg farm
The Agriculture Department has spent $450 million to combat this year’s outbreak of bird flu, but losses among domestic flocks are nearing the record set seven years ago in the largest-ever U.S. animal health emergency. The outbreak has driven up egg prices and tightened the supply of holiday turkeys.
As bird flu losses mount, USDA advises ‘plan for elevated risk’
For the first time, researchers have tracked the movements of a wild duck infected with bird flu, information that could help them come up with disease mitigation strategies against the viral disease, said the U.S. Geological Survey on Wednesday. More than 47.7 million birds in U.S. domestic flocks have died in outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza since February.
Europe reports biggest bird flu epidemic ever
Bird flu cases have been reported from the Arctic islands of northern Norway to southern Portugal this year in the largest epidemic yet seen in Europe of the disease, said the E.U. food safety agency on Monday. The virus that causes highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was unusually persistent during the summer and the risk of disease among flocks would increase with autumn migratory season, it said.
Bird flu found in 40th state this year
Scientists confirmed a backyard flock of poultry in northwestern Tennessee was infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), part of a resurgence of the disease in the central states. Some 3.37 million birds in domestic flocks have died of bird flu so far this month; nationwide losses during September will be the largest since April.
Ohio is hit hardest as bird flu returns to the Midwest
After a summertime lull, bird flu is back in the Midwest, the heart of U.S. egg and turkey production, with outbreaks at commercial poultry farms in Minnesota and Ohio since Sept. 1. Some 43.85 million birds have been culled this year due to highly pathogenic avian influenza, and one analyst says turkey and egg prices may remain elevated for some time to come.
After relentless increases, food inflation rate stands still
Higher consumer demand and lower supplies are driving up pork and egg prices, but after increasing for six months in a row, the U.S. food inflation rate for 2022 is unchanged this month, said the USDA on Thursday.
Bird flu slashes egg and turkey exports
While beef and broiler meat exports surged in the first half of this year, egg exports plummeted 38 percent, turkey 20 percent and pork 18 percent, said USDA economists. Eggs and turkeys "were negatively impacted by the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), according to the Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook, issued monthly.
As bird flu outbreaks slow, USDA urges readiness for autumn
While this year’s outbreaks of bird flu, the worst in seven years, are following the usual pattern of dissipating during hot weather, it’s too early to declare the threat over, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday.
Worst U.S. outbreak of bird flu in seven years fades in May
Nearly 38 million birds in domestic flocks have died in outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) from coast to coast since early February, but USDA data suggest the threat is fading. With one day to go in May, losses for the month were on track to be the smallest of the year. A …
Colorado inmate contracts bird flu from infected flock
Bird flu ranks as a low threat to public health, said the Centers for Disease Control, after a Colorado correctional inmate tested positive for avian influenza after culling an infected flock. It was the first U.S. case and the second worldwide of human infection by the H5N1 viruses now circulating among birds globally.
Bird flu found in 29 states, from Idaho to Pennsylvania
Laboratory tests confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in three additional states, Pennsylvania, Idaho and Utah, with losses in domestic flocks nearing 27.4 million birds, said the Agriculture Department. The first outbreak in Pennsylvania, at an egg farm in Lancaster County, was announced two days after the state banned poultry shows at county and local fairs for 60 days.
Two more bird flu outbreaks on Pennsylvania egg farms
In less than three months, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has killed more than 31 million birds, mostly chickens and turkeys, in domestic flocks from the Atlantic coast into the Rockies, according to USDA data released Sunday. Officials said bird flu was identified on two additional egg farms in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with a combined 2 million hens.
Egg farm losses from bird flu top 20 million hens
With the discovery of bird flu on a Pennsylvania egg farm, more than 20 million egg-laying hens have died in outbreaks of the viral disease this year, according to USDA data released on Monday. Wholesale prices for eggs were at least $1 higher per dozen than a year ago, with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as a factor.
Bird flu spreads in northern Plains, Minnesota hit again
For the first time this year, officials identified highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in domestic flocks in Montana and Colorado. With the discoveries, bird flu has been found in 25 states, from Maine and North Carolina and Texas and Wyoming since early February and at 159 sites totaling 24.65 million birds, mostly chickens and turkeys, according to USDA data.
Bird flu found in dairy cows in Texas and Kansas
The USDA announced Monday that unpasteurized milk samples from sick cattle at two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas, as well as an oropharyngeal swab from another dairy in Texas, tested positive for Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).