U.S. avian flu outbreak of 2022 wipes out record number of birds

Chicago | Reuters — Avian flu has wiped out 50.54 million birds in the United States this year, making it the country’s deadliest outbreak in history, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed Thursday.

The deaths of chickens, turkeys and other birds represent the worst U.S. animal-health disaster to date, topping the previous record of 50.5 million birds that died in an avian flu outbreak in 2015.

Birds often die after becoming infected. Entire flocks, which can top a million birds at egg-laying chicken farms, are also culled to control the spread of the disease after a bird tests positive.

In Canada, as of Wednesday, the total number of domestic birds impacted in high-path avian flu outbreaks since December 2021 is estimated at about 3.792 million across nine provinces.

By comparison, in 2014-15, Canada saw avian flu outbreaks  on farms in British Columbia and Ontario, impacting up to about 240,000 and 82,000 domestic birds respectively through infections or culls.

Losses of poultry flocks sent U.S. prices for eggs and turkey meat to record highs, worsening economic pain for consumers facing red-hot inflation and making Thursday’s Thanksgiving celebrations more expensive in the U.S.

Europe and Britain are also suffering their worst avian flu crises, and some British supermarkets rationed customers’ egg purchases after the outbreak disrupted supplies.

The U.S. outbreak, which began in February, has since infected flocks of poultry and non-poultry birds across 46 states, USDA data show. Wild birds such as ducks transmit the virus, known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), through their feces, feathers or direct contact with poultry.

“Wild birds continue to spread HPAI throughout the country as they migrate, so preventing contact between domestic flocks and wild birds is critical to protecting U.S. poultry,” said Rosemary Sifford, USDA’s chief veterinary officer.

Farmers struggled to keep the disease and wild birds out of their barns after increasing security and cleaning measures following the 2015 outbreak. In 2015, about 30 per cent of the cases were traced directly to wild bird origins, compared to 85 per cent this year, USDA told Reuters.

Government officials are studying infections at turkey farms, in particular, in hopes of developing new recommendations for preventing infections. Turkey farms account for more than 70 per cent of the commercial poultry farms infected in the outbreak, USDA said.

People should avoid unprotected contact birds that look sick or have died, though the outbreak poses a low risk to the general public, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

— Tom Polansek reports on agriculture and ag commodities for Reuters from Chicago.