Farms across California have had to euthanize millions of chickens and ducks in recent weeks as an avian influenza outbreak threatens to disrupt the nation's poultry and egg supplies.
While cases are occurring across the United States, agricultural hubs in Northern California have suffered some of the biggest losses in the past month.
“There are economies of scale in commercial agriculture, including poultry,” Maurice Pitesky, an avian disease expert at the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, told The Hill.
“We're not kidding. If you put all your eggs in one basket, the virus gets into the facility and unfortunately you have to euthanize all the birds,” Pitesky said.
As of noon Friday, approximately 10.62 million birds in 63 flocks nationwide have been affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks over the past 30 days, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Animal and plant health inspection services (Affis).
Of these flocks, 37 were commercial birds and 26 were kept in backyard farms, totaling 3.8 million birds, concentrated in California.
The current surge in HPAI is the latest expansion in a nationwide epidemic that has been on the rise since mid-fall and has waxed and waned since 2022.
A surge in the disease rattled the domestic poultry industry last year, leading to a nationwide egg shortage and record high prices.The country could be headed in that direction again: Egg prices are It's still half way That's up 12 percent from last month, compared to about a year ago, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Calmaine Foods, the country's largest egg producer, announced a 91% decline in profit for fiscal 2024. Second quarter Revenues — Quarterly net income was $17 million, compared with $198.6 million in the prior-year period.
Max Bowman, California-Maine's vice president and chief financial officer, said in a statement accompanying the report that it will improve “biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza.” Recognized the necessity.
HPAI is typically introduced to the United States from wild birds migrating along the East Asian flyway. cross the road The birds are migrating along the North American route, according to the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security at the University of California, Davis.
Migratory birds are the “primary vectors” of HPAI, Piteski said, noting that ducks and geese often migrate thousands of miles, meeting in the Arctic in the fall and then heading south.
“When all these different flight paths connect to each other, that’s where all the interaction takes place.[s] It’s about the virus,” he said.
Wild waterfowl often carry the virus without showing symptoms, but when it infects poultry, it causes what Michael Payne, a researcher at the institute, described in a statement as “catastrophic mortality.” may occur.
“It won't take long,” Payne warned. “One drop of excrement from an infected bird (weighing just 1 gram, about the same as a dime) contains enough virus to infect 1 million birds.”
two HPAI strains; attack multiple organs According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chickens can have a mortality rate of up to 90 to 100 percent, and can die within 48 hours.
Although sporadic infectious diseases to humans According to the CDC, it occurs with a variety of avian influenza viruses, but usually only after prolonged unprotected contact with sick birds.
There are about 500 to 600 commercial poultry farms in California's Central Valley, which provides robust habitat for both non-migratory and migratory birds, Pitesky said. This combination of domestic and wild animals created a “spatial interface” for disease transmission, he explained.
Compounding the conflict, Pitesky said, are the dual threats of human development and climate change, which, taken together, could lead to changes in waterfowl access to these farms. It is said to be causing it.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has determined that the five California counties currently experiencing active HPAI transmission include Sonoma, Marin, Merced, Fresno, and San Joaquin. recent research.
“To protect other flocks in California, the location of the infected flock is currently under quarantine, and the birds have been euthanized to prevent further spread of the disease,” the department said.
sonoma county last month declared a state of emergency after HPAI was detected at two commercial poultry farms in the southern part of the county. To protect other flocks in the area, these sites were isolated and approximately 250,000 birds were euthanized.
Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt said in a statement at the time that while these measures helped prevent further spread of the disease, they also came at the expense of the local agricultural economy.
Chicken farms in southern Sonoma County provide “hundreds of thousands of eggs every day,” which in turn strengthens “the food chain all along the West Coast, if not beyond,” he said. added.
Most recently, approximately 494,200 birds were affected by HPAI at commercial egg farms in Sonoma County, according to APHIS.
A similar fate befell 54,000 and 37,300 birds on two farms on Dec. 28, according to APHIS data. On the same day, the disease was detected in Marin County, affecting 151,000 birds at a production farm that raises immature laying hens.
More than 2.3 million birds at multiple food egg farms in Merced County were found to be affected by the disease during December, data showed.
Broiler chickens, ducks and turkeys are also affected throughout these counties.
Other states with reported outbreaks include South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Arkansas, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
While some experts have called for mass vaccination of poultry to prevent the spread of the disease, Pitesky said that because approximately 8 billion broiler chickens and more than 350 million broiler chickens need to be processed, , said it is impractical at this time from both a financial and logistical perspective. Chickens that collect eggs every year.
Related political tensions also complicate matters. Although some vaccinated birds may not have symptoms, they can still transmit the disease, he explained. At the same time, the United States remains one of the world's top poultry exporters.
“The way the trade works is that once you start vaccinating, it becomes much more difficult to differentiate between vaccinated and uninfected birds,” Piteski said.
But as the disease continues to spread to California and other parts of the world, world animal health organization (WOAH) called for a rethink of “all available tools” to reduce pandemic risks, including vaccination.
Arguing that hygiene control measures may be insufficient to control the spread of HPAI strains, the group advocated for vaccination to be included in disease prevention strategies.
The group stressed that choosing such measures would require not only high-quality vaccines that meet international standards, but also robust monitoring protocols, a commitment to compliance by poultry producers and traceability at every step of the process. did.
Four HPAI vaccines have been approved in the United States, but none have been approved for the most virulent strain. American Veterinary Medical Association. On the other hand, the Department of Agriculture Initial testing completed Five HPAI vaccine candidates are being studied, but their efficacy is still being evaluated.
“Eventually we may need to change trade rules and regulations,” Pitesky said, noting that Australia is currently the only continent without an outbreak of bird flu.
“Everyone seems to be hurt by that,” he added. “So ultimately some of these rules may need to be revised to facilitate trade.”
As far as the future is concerned, Pitesky said he and his team are working on developing remote sensing tools that can show where waterfowl are relative to commercial poultry.
While he acknowledged that certain regions and geographies may not be suitable for organic or pasture-raised poultry, he expressed support for restoring waterfowl habitat far from existing poultry farms. expressed.
Pitesky described the ongoing outbreak as an “existential issue” and emphasized that poultry remains the most consumed animal protein in the United States.
“From a welfare perspective, from an economic perspective, we can't continue to have this situation where we have to euthanize millions of birds and reduce the population every year,” he said.
“There's value in having a large farm, but I also think you need to think carefully about where you put that large farm,” Piteski added.
