Breaking Alabama: Avian Flu Outbreak Kills 344,500

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As scary as highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) sounds,

I'm more scared of what it will do to the price of eggs and chicken.

The total cost to us won't be felt right away, but if you remember, 18,000 cows were killed not that long ago, and we know what happened to meat and dairy prices.

What Happened?

A fire broke out at South Fork Dairy farm, where thousands of dairy cows were trapped in holding pens waiting to be milked. 18,000 head of cattle died. This surpassed the previous high, a 2020 fire at an upstate New York dairy farm that killed about 400 cows.

What Did it mean for meat and dairy prices?

THEY WENT UP!

Now chicken farms in Alabama lost 344,500 birds due to a highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI), as confirmed by state agriculture officials.

One farm, located in Marshall County, has been placed under quarantine.

This farm lost 48,000 chickens.

In response to the outbreak, testing and monitoring are being conducted on all poultry within a 10-kilometer radius of the affected farm.

This discovery of HPAI in Marshall County follows a previous case in Chilton County, where HPAI was confirmed in a gamebird farm.

In Chilton County, the virus affected nearly 296,500 birds, all of which are to be killed by the end of the week. It remains unclear if the cases at both farms are connected.

HPAI poses a low risk to humans, it is highly contagious among birds. This virus is not a threat to food safety because birds affected by HPAI do not enter the food supply.

In cases of sick or dead wild birds, individuals are urged to report to the Alabama Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. For sick or deceased domestic birds and poultry, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries' Poultry Unit should be notified.