North Carolina among the states with highest number of bird flu cases
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
North Carolina has the third highest number of birds affected by avian influenza in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Why it matters: The number of reported avian flu outbreaks across the U.S. has increased significantly in recent weeks, with more egg-producing chickens being affected since the start of January than all of 2023, The Guardian reported.
Between the lines: The national outbreak is directly leading to egg shortages at the grocery store and higher prices, Axios reported.
Zoom in: Over the past month, more than 3.3 million birds have been affected in North Carolina, a number that only trails Ohio and Missouri.
- Nearly all of the birds affected come from a commercial egg-laying operation in Hyde County, according to a database from the N.C. Department of Agriculture.
- Only three facilities in the state have reported positive cases so far, according to the state Agriculture Department.
What they're saying: North Carolina's State Veterinarian Mike Martin told Axios that none of the commercial outbreaks in North Carolina were related and that they had all been contained quickly.
- But the danger is that the virus continues to enter the state from wild migratory birds.
- "Speed is definitely a critical element" to containing this, Martin told Axios, noting previous bird flu outbreaks in other states in 2014-2015 spread between farms when flocks weren't culled quickly.
- "We've learned from past outbreaks, prepared and gotten ourselves in (a) position to be faster to respond," he added.
Martin said Department of Agriculture staff is traveling throughout the state to respond to calls and conduct testing, from commercial farms to backyard flocks.
- Testing is also done if a farm reports sick or dying birds, with positive tests sent to the USDA for confirmation. A positive test leads to the culling of birds at a facility, according to the state.
- Martin added that everyone from commercial operations to those with backyard flocks should be implementing biosecurity steps to prevent viruses from wild birds spreading.
State of play: The bird flu crisis has struck 113 flocks in the past 30 days, affecting more than 19 million birds, per USDA. It's also been confirmed in 943 dairy herds, the vast majority in California.
- The Trump administration hasn't publicly outlined steps to address the spread, Axios' Tina Reed and Adriel Bettelheim report. HHS didn't respond to a request for comment.
- HHS Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he intended to "devote the appropriate resources to preventing pandemics" during confirmation hearings last week, leading some Democratic senators to point to past statements he made about giving infectious disease research "a break."
Go deeper: The bird flu isn't considered a threat to the general public at the moment