New Strain of Bird Flu Hits California Flock

The United States reported its first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu in poultry on a duck farm in California.  Reuters said that authorities also detected the more common H5N1 strain on the same farm in Merced County, California.  By December 2nd, almost 119,000 birds on the farm had been killed.

In addition, a recent outbreak of bird flu at a Georgia poultry farm, the biggest chicken producer in the U.S., is set to trigger trade restrictions from major meat importers.  Reuters said an industry group warned last week that a move of that kind could financially harm farmers and processors.  

The USDA’s most recent egg price outlook says egg prices were predicted to increase by 20% in 2025, compared to 2.2% for overall food prices.  USA Today says, “The USDA attributed the rise in egg costs to the bird flu outbreak which caused a strain in the number of layers.”

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