Nation’s second-largest egg producer hit by bird flu as virus spreads across the US
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The nation’s second-largest egg producer has been hit by bird flu.
The Indiana-based Rose Acre Farms said that its Seymour egg farm recently tested positive for the virus, and that workers there had begun to notice deaths over the weekend.
They sent out samples to be tested as “quickly as possible,” and implemented further biosecurity steps to their protocol.
“Unfortunately, we have been previously affected by bird flu, and we know the necessary steps to mitigate further spread,” Rose Acre Farms said in a series of posts on social media.
Now, the farm is working with the state’s Board of Animal Health and the state veterinarian on best practices to combat the risk of spread to other birds. It is continuing to monitor its other facilities in seven states.
The announcement comes amid concerns about skyrocketing egg prices tied to mass cullings of flocks exposed to H5N1 bird flu.
The Department of Agriculture has predicted that prices would jump another 20 percent this year, and recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the average cost of a dozen grade-A large eggs rose to $4.15 last December from $2.51 in December 2023.
Concerns about pricing come as the spread of the virus continues to spark concern across the country.
On Thursday, Massachusetts officials said that evidence suggests the virus is “widespread” in the state, and is “likely present even in places where there has not been a confirmed positive.”
Bird flu killed dozens of geese in Ohio and a more rare strain was recently found on a duck farm in California. Minnesota said this week that it would start testing milk for bird flu on dairy farms.
The Biden administration had ordered more testing during its final days and invested more than $300 million toward monitoring and preparedness.
How the Trump administration will respond to outbreaks largely remains a mystery, although its halt of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Weekly Scientific Report has stalled some related research, according to KFF Health News.
A spokesperson for the agency told the outlet that there was a “short pause.”
Still, the agency has been instructed to stop working with the World Health Organization, which coordinates the global response to health emergencies.
When asked about bird flu during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Health and Human Services Department Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., told senators that he intends to devote the appropriate resources to preventing pandemics.
Kennedy has promoted raw milk, which has been tied to exposure to the virus. He’s also questioned moves to get a bird flu vaccine and said that bird flu is “notoriously harmless to humans.”
There have been dozens of cases in 10 states confirmed in the U.S. since then, including one death.
Of the cases reported in the Western Pacific Region from January 2003 through this past September, the World Health Organization said that there was a fatality rate of 54 percent.
