2 Million Chickens and Turkeys Have Died in New US Bird Flu Epidemic

Chickens are seen indoors in a file photo. Michael Kooren/Reuters

After several new outbreaks in Missouri and Iowa, along with other states, more than 2 million birds—mainly chickens and turkeys—died between February and March because of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), federal officials said in a recent update.

In New Castle, Delaware, between late February and early March, roughly 1.4 million poultry died after becoming infected with bird flu, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in a March 10 update on its website.

A total of 496,272 commercial layer chickens died after contracting HPAI in Cecil County, Maryland, according to the agency, while another 150,000 commercial broiler chickens died in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland.

Significant outbreaks and deaths were confirmed in Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, South Dakota, and Iowa. Smaller outbreaks were seen in New York state, Maine, Connecticut, Michigan, and Virginia, according to the USDA.

Officials say the highly pathogenic avian influenza is found in 12 U.S. states as of March 12. Authorities, including those from the USDA, say that in the recent outbreak, HPAI also has been found in backyard flocks in several states, not just on commercial farms.

Officials had previously said that more than 50 million U.S. chickens and turkeys died during an HPAI epidemic between December 2014 and June 2015, driving up egg and chicken prices. Some countries also banned the importation of U.S.-produced poultry meat because of fears of bird flu spreading to other countries.

Avian influenza is triggered by the influenza Type A virus, and it’s “broadly categorized based on a combination of two groups of proteins on the surface of the influenza,” according to the USDA. Because of the protein combinations, avian influenza viruses are either classified as either “low pathogenic” or “highly pathogenic” based on their “genetic features and the severity of the disease they cause in poultry.”

“Most viruses are of low pathogenicity, meaning that they cause no signs or only minor clinical signs of infection in poultry,” the agency stated.

Since 2002, there have been four detections of bird flu that have leaped to humans from birds in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Avian flu in humans can potentially cause severe respiratory disease with a high mortality rate.

The CDC stated that the recent bird flu cases don’t present an immediate public health concern. No human cases of these viruses have been detected in the United States during the recent outbreak.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.