Bird flu still taking toll on industry as 1.35 million chickens are being killed on an Ohio egg farm

More than 1.3 million chickens are being slaughtered at an Ohio egg farm as bird flu continues to take its toll on the industry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said all 1.35 million chickens on its farm in Ohio’s Union County will be slaughtered to help limit the spread of the highly contagious virus after a case in the flock was confirmed this week.

The outbreak that began in early 2022 has been much less severe this year as fewer cases of the virus are found among the wild birds that spread the virus. But 8.1 million birds have still been killed this year to help control the spread of the disease, with 5.8 million of those coming this month after several major egg farms were hit. That includes 1.2 million birds on an egg farm in Iowa and another 940,000 chickens on an egg farm in Minnesota that had to be killed.

Egg farms are often much larger than turkey or chicken farms, sometimes with millions of birds. That’s a big part of why Iowa — the nation’s largest egg-producing state — has been hardest hit in this outbreak, with nearly 17.3 million birds dead. Ohio is also one of the largest egg-producing states, but only 5.1 million birds have been killed due to bird flu.

This week, extensive cases of bird flu have also been confirmed on farms in Minnesota, Maryland, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Georgia and California. But the largest of those cases involved the chicken farm in Maryland, where 198,200 birds were killed.

In 2022, almost 58 million birds were slaughtered as part of the outbreak. The highly contagious virus is easily spread by wild birds through feces and nasal secretions.

Farmers are working hard to prevent the virus from infecting their herds by taking measures such as requiring workers to shower and change before entering the stable, disinfecting trucks entering a farm and investing in separate sets of tools for each stable. But the virus is difficult to keep out, especially along the main routes for migratory birds heading south for the winter.

Officials say bird flu does not pose a significant health threat. Human cases are extremely rare and none of the infected birds are allowed into the country’s food supply. Properly cooking poultry and eggs to 165 degrees Fahrenheit (73.89 degrees Celsius) will also kill any viruses.