Adding to the cost of the government’s response and rising prices for eggs, chicken and turkey, farmers raising these animals have easily lost more than $1 billion, an agricultural economist says, though no one has yet calculated the total cost to the industry.
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The bad news is that with the epidemic entering its second year and the spring migration season looming, there is no end in sight. And farmers can’t do much beyond the steps they’ve already taken to try to keep the virus out.
Unlike years past, the virus that causes highly pathogenic avian influenza found a way to survive last summer’s heat, leading to an increase in reported cases in the fall.
The outbreak is already more widespread than the last major bird flu outbreak in 2015, but it hasn’t yet proven to be as costly, in part because government and industry applied lessons learned eight years ago. .
“The past year has been devastating for the turkey industry as we experience, unequivocally, the worst HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) outbreak in industry history,” said the door- National Turkey Federation speaker, Shelby Newman.
In the current outbreak, 58.4 million birds have been slaughtered at more than 300 commercial farms in 47 states. This is because each time the virus is detected, the entire herd on that farm – which may number in the millions – must be killed to limit the spread of the disease. Only Hawaii, Louisiana and West Virginia have not yet reported cases of bird flu. Iowa — the nation’s largest egg producer — leads the nation with nearly 16 million birds culled.
In 2015, approximately 50 million chickens and turkeys were slaughtered on more than 200 farms in 15 states.
This previous outbreak remains the costliest animal health disaster in US history. The federal government has spent nearly a billion dollars to care for infected birds, clean barns and compensate farmers. This cost the industry an estimated $3 billion, as farmers incurred additional costs and lost money when they had no birds on their farms.
Those bills continue to pile up this year as cases spread, and that includes the cost to consumers.
Limit the spread
The number of birds culled last spring peaked at nearly 21 million in March, leaving farmers wary of what they will face in the months ahead. University of Georgia virus researcher David Stallknecht said there’s hope this spring won’t be as bad, as turkeys and chickens may have developed some immunity to the virus.
The main problem with bird flu is that the highly contagious virus is easily spread by wild birds through their droppings and nasal secretions. Despite farmers’ best efforts, it is difficult to keep the virus out.
Farmers have gone to great lengths by requiring workers to shower and change clothes before entering barns, sanitizing trucks entering a farm, and investing in separate tool sets for each barn. Some farms have even improved barn ventilation and installed laser systems to discourage wild birds from congregating.
Avian influenza does not pose a significant threat to human health. Human cases are extremely rare and none of the infected birds are allowed to enter the country’s food supply.
There was only one confirmed human case of bird flu during this outbreak and it was a man who helped cull and remove infected birds from a farm in Colorado. He recovered from the illness following a few days.