Bird flu continues to impact the industry as 1.35 million chickens are killed on an Ohio egg farm
More than 1.3 million chickens are raised slaughter On an egg farm in Ohio where bird flu continues to impact the industry.
US Department of Agriculture He said All 1.35 million chickens on the farm in Union County, Ohio, will be slaughtered to help limit the spread of the highly contagious virus after a case was confirmed in the flock this week.
the Outbreak The virus, which began in early 2022, has been much less dangerous this year as fewer cases of the virus have been found among the wild birds that spread it. But there are still 8.1 million birds killed this year to help control the spread of the disease, and 5.8 million of those came just this month as several large egg farms were hit. This includes 1.2 million birds at a time Iowa egg farm And 940 thousand other chickens One egg farm in Minnesota Who had to be killed.
Egg farms tend to be much larger than turkey or chicken farms, sometimes containing millions of birds. That’s a big part of the reason why Iowa — the nation’s largest egg-producing state — was hit hard by this outbreak, with nearly 17.3 million birds killed. Ohio is also one of the largest egg-producing states, but has only seen 5.1 million birds killed by bird flu.
This week, major cases of bird flu were confirmed on farms in Minnesota, Maryland, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Georgia and California. But the largest of these cases was a chicken farm in Maryland, where 198,200 birds were killed.
In 2022, nearly 58 million birds were slaughtered as part of the outbreak. The highly contagious virus is easily spread by Wild birds Through waste and nasal secretions.
Farmers are work hard To prevent the virus from infecting their herds by taking steps such as requiring workers to shower and change clothes before entering barns, sanitizing trucks entering the farm and investing in separate sets of tools for each barn. But it is difficult to keep the virus at bay, especially along the main routes of migratory birds heading south for the winter.
Officials say bird flu does not pose a major health threat. Human cases It is extremely rare and none of the infected birds are allowed into the country’s food supply. Properly cooking poultry and eggs to 165°F (73.89°C) will also kill any viruses.
