Will Bird Flu Become a Recurring Issue Each Year?
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, ravaged U.S. flocks in 2022, with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) estimating 58 million birds have been culled since HPAI was first detected last year.
Egg prices peaked in December at around $5.43, then decreased 52% to $2.61 per dozen in February — a 47% decrease from the beginning of 2023, according to USDA's egg market news report.
Bill Northey, Agribusiness Associations of Iowa CEO, led Iowa’s fight against the massive bird flu outbreak in 2015, which decimated 50 million birds in two months. He says a new hypothesis has unearthed a potential crack in flu transmission research.
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“I haven’t gotten verification from scientists, but some are saying the flu may be lingering in the domestic population,” he says. “We always thought it was migratory birds, therefore the exposures would be worse in the Spring and Fall. But we’re seeing more and more reports of the flu outside of those timeframes, when temperatures are down, and birds are more susceptible.”
While talk of the potential for HPAI’s spread to become worse each year is alarming, research is needed to understand the full scope of the disease.
What's the Bird Flu Gameplan?
In the meantime, Northey feels APHIS is geared-up to help producers keep the flu at bay.
“We’re positioned much better to handle bird flu now than we were in 2015,” Northey said. “We know that having all the tools we have today, there was likely very little farm-to-farm spread last year.”
The tools APHIS put in place following the 2015 outbreak include:
• Commercial bird tracking
• Disease surveillance
• Documentation of domestic and international trade
• Indemnity payments
• Education and guidance on cleaning, disinfection and disposal
But not all stakeholders feel APHIS is working in favor of the poultry industry’s needs.
“No Compelling Justification”
Mike Brown, National Chicken Council president, said in a House Ag Committee farm bill hearing this week that overregulation is burdening producers already in the midst of a tough battle with HPAI.
“USDA has resurrected a 13-year-old packers and stockyards act rulemaking that would stifle chicken production,” Brown noted. “All of these regulatory programs share two things in common: One, there is no compelling justification for them, and two, they would drive unprecedented levels of food inflation and food scarcity.”
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As stakeholders seek to funnel funds into the industry, the HPAI cull counts continue to climb.
More Confirmed HPAI Cases
Illinois on Wednesday confirmed reports of the flu in a commercial turkey meat bird flock in Wayne County, Illinois, with 18,200 birds.
This is the first case of HPAI in a commercial operation in Illinois, as prior cases in 2022 were all in either non-poultry or backyard flocks.
In the last 30 days, there have been 29 flocks confirmed in 14 states.
