Bird flu has spread in chickens and dairy cows
Approximately 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets, about 3.6% of its total flock, were destroyed in early April 2024 after avian influenza was found at a facility in Parmer County, Texas.
As of Friday, April 19, 2024, the strain of bird flu that has killed millions of wild birds in recent years has been found in at least 26 dairy herds in eight states: Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and South Dakota.
"There are about 312 million egg-laying hens on farms across the U.S. right now—that's nearly one bird for every American—and while there are plenty of eggs to meet demand, we have seen temporary, isolated supply disruptions in certain parts of the country at the local level due to bird flu," Marc Dresner with the American Egg Board told Allrecipes for an article about egg prices rising again in February 2024.
“At this time, there continues to be no concern that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health, or that it affects the safety of the interstate commercial milk supply,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement.
Bird flu has spread to more farm animals. Here’s what to know about food safety | PBS NewsHour
Largest U.S. fresh egg producer detects bird flu in chickens, halts production | PBS NewsHour