Avian flu is killing nearly a record number of poultry in the US

CHICAGO, Oct 18 (Reuters) – In this year’s bird flu outbreak, a near-record number of US chickens and turkeys have died because a different form of the virus than those previously fought by farmers has infected more wild birds, which then transmit the disease . officials said.

More than 47 million birds have died due to infection and culling. This has spurred export bans, lowered egg and turkey production and contributed to record prices for staples ahead of the US Christmas season. The outbreak is exacerbating economic pains for consumers grappling with rising inflation.

In 2015, 50.5 million birds died in the deadliest outbreak in the US, the country’s worst animal health incident to date.

Farmers are battling a subtype of the H5N1 strain of the virus that has survived through the summer, when rising temperatures typically reduce bird flu, said Rosemary Sifford, the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) chief veterinary officer.

The same subtype known as the goose/Guangdong lineage is spreading in Europe, she said in an interview. Europe is already suffering from its worst bird flu crisis, which has killed nearly 50 million poultry.

Officials are finding the subtype in a wider range of wild birds like ducks than in the past, and it appears to be living longer in the birds, Sifford said. An increased threat of infection could persist through the summer of 2023 if they migrate, she said.

The United States is monitoring wild birds along four migration paths known as flyways, up from two previously, and plans to do the same next year.

“This virus could be present in wild birds for the foreseeable future,” Sifford said. “This one is certainly different.”

The outbreak has infected herds in 42 states since February, double the number in 2015, USDA records show. Infections slowed down this summer, but didn’t stop like they did in 2015.

The persistence of the virus surprised some growers, who have been improving barn cleaning and safety since the outbreak in 2015.

“Unfortunately, what we did probably wasn’t enough to protect us from this high viral load in the wild bird population,” Sifford said.

RECORD PRICES IN TURKEY

Minnesota, the state with the highest turkey production in the country, suffered infections in two commercial flocks in late August after three months of no cases, USDA data show. The state then saw more cases in September.

“We didn’t expect to see an increase in August,” said Ashley Kohls, executive director of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association.

After infections, it takes about six months to decontaminate farms and restart turkey production, Kohls said.

Minnesota-based Hormel Foods Corp (HRL.N), owner of the Jennie-O Turkey Store brand, said it expects bird flu to reduce its turkey production by at least March 2023.

“We’ve been working really hard, but clearly this is still an issue,” Hormel CEO James Snee said on a conference call last month.

Retail prices for fresh boneless skinless turkey breast hit a record $6.70 a pound last month, up 112% year over year and 14% above the previous record set in 2015, the American Farm Bureau said.

Turkey meat production this year is set to fall 6% to 5.2 billion pounds from 2021, according to the USDA.

US farmers, facing high feed and labor costs, were already cutting output due to falling profits before the outbreak. Stocks of turkey breasts in cold storage hit a record low this year, USDA data shows.

Indiana turkey farmer Greg Gunthorp said grocers, online retailers and other shoppers have been calling looking for whole turkeys and breasts. Antibiotic-free turkey breasts are selling wholesale for $7 to $9 a pound, down from about $3 before the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

“The turkey market right now is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” Gunthorp said.

Infections in flocks have triggered export restrictions on US poultry, further hurting producers. China, a key buyer, has blocked poultry from entire states with confirmed cases and is taking longer than necessary to lift the bans, the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council said.

China this month suspended poultry imports from Arkansas, the third-largest producer of meat chickens, after the state reported its first infection of the year, USDA records show. The state’s Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward said he had hoped Arkansas could avoid the disease.

“The virus has changed,” Ward said. “Hopefully it’s one of those ones where the virus will burn out after about a year and maybe things will settle down again.”

Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago; Edited by Caroline Stauffer and David Gregorio

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