This season’s bird flu outbreak is the worst in U.S. history, having surpassed a 2015 outbreak the CDC once called “arguably the most significant animal health event in U.S. history.” That year, nearly 51 million birds died nationally due to H5N1 and related avian flu viruses.
It’s an environmental crisis already impacting humans, sending the price of poultry skyrocketing and making eggs harder to come by. U.S. egg retail costs have doubled over the past year, and oven-ready chicken prices are up by a quarter or more in the U.K., Bloomberg recently reported.
What’s more, the poultry industry likely cannot “sustain itself in countries like the U.S. if we continue to see annual surges,” Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), adds. READ MORE
If you don't remember - this is exactly what happened last year as well, which is why there is currently an egg shortage. There were poultry factories burning down and some factories culled their chickens because of the outbreak. Some states were even suggesting that homeowners cull their personal flocks as a "precaution" - since native birds could catch it and spread it further.
Article from 2022: "When the virus is found on poultry farms, officials slaughter entire flocks to curb the spread, even when most birds have no symptoms. So far, 37.36 million birds have been killed in 32 states."
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