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Avian flu surges in Northern California, threatening national poultry, egg supplies

January 7, 2024 - from the The Hill:

"Avian flu surges in Northern California, threatening national poultry, egg supplies

"Farms across California have had to euthanize several million chickens and ducks in recent weeks, as a wave of avian influenza threatens to upend national poultry and egg supplies.

"While cases of the disease have been cropping up throughout the U.S., agricultural hubs in Northern California have endured the greatest losses over the past month.

"As of midday Friday, about 10.62 million birds in 63 flocks nationwide had been affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks over the past 30 days, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

"Of these flocks, 37 were commercial and 26 were backyard, and a total of 3.8 million birds were concentrated in California.

"The current spike in HPAI — on the rise since mid-fall — is the latest escalation in a nationwide outbreak that has ebbed and flowed since 2022.

"HPAI is typically introduced into the U.S. from wild birds that migrate along the East Asian Flyway and cross paths with birds traveling along the North American routes, according to UC Davis’s Western Institute for Food Safety and Security.

"Pitesky described migratory birds as “the primary reservoir” for HPAI, noting that ducks and geese often travel thousands of miles — meeting during fall in the Arctic, before heading south.

"While wild waterfowl often carry the virus without developing symptoms, spreading to domestic poultry can result in what institute researcher Michael Payne described in a statement as "“catastrophic mortality.'"