Bird Flu Alert: Dozens of Birds Infected at New York City Poultry Market

Your GBBC —

Another 150 birds at a Queens live poultry market have died due to a bird flu outbreak, according to the CDC.

This is the first case in New York City since early February when over 1,000 birds were infected.

Bird markets in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester were shut down for a week to do complete cleaning and disinfection procedures.

Those cases were discovered during routine inspections in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn.

Flu Cases and Respiratory Virus Numbers Soar in Illinois

The new cases come less than 2 weeks since the Governor lifted the order on February 22nd.

There are no human cases of avian influenza, and the threat to the public is low.

More than 166 million birds across the country have been slaughtered to contain the virus. Some 30 million egg layers have been wiped out just since January, significantly disrupting egg supplies. The Department of Agriculture’s longstanding policy has been to kill entire flocks anytime the virus is found on a farm.

As a result, the number of egg layers has dropped nationwide by about 12% from before the outbreak to 292 million birds, according to a Feb. 1 USDA estimate, but another 11 million egg layers have been killed since then, so it’s likely worse.

Retail egg prices had generally remained below $2 per dozen for years before this outbreak began. Prices have more than doubled since then, boosting profits for egg producers even as they deal with soaring costs.

About The Author