The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce reported another case of avian influenza – commonly known as bird flu – on Wednesday, marking the third time the disease has been detected in local chicken flocks over the past four months.
“The Mississippi Board of Animal Health has been notified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory that poultry from a commercial broiler breeder flock in Noxubee County, Mississippi, has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza,” a portion of the release from MDAC reads.
The case of bird flu in Noxubee County joins December cases confirmed in Greene and Copiah counties. Like in previous cases, the affected premises in Noxubee County have been quarantined, and birds on the property have been slaughtered to prevent the spread of the disease. Per MDAC, birds from the flock have not entered the food system.
While the risk to humans is minimal, according to the CDC, the bird flu outbreak has imposed an economic threat across the country. The disruption in the commercial poultry industry has caused billions in revenue losses and rising food prices – especially when it comes to eggs.
Egg prices again reached a record high last month, with the latest Consumer Price Index showing a dozen Grade A eggs cost an average of $5.90 in U.S. cities in February, up 10.4% from a year ago. That number eclipsed January’s record-high price of $4.95. Like other parts of the country, high prices and lack of product have resulted in some Mississippi retailers limiting how many cartons of eggs consumers can purchase at once.
“It’s a crisis situation, and as you know, poultry and eggs make for our biggest industry in the state of Mississippi,” Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson said. “We’ve been watching this for a number of years. When I first took office in 2018, this was kind of a rare occurrence. Now, what’s happened is this bird flu has gotten into the wild birds, songbirds, ducks, and geese. As a result, it’s finding its way into the henhouses, poultry houses, and laying houses.”
According to Gipson, around 250 million egg-laying birds nationwide have been impacted by bird flu. This year alone, more than 30 million egg layers have been purposely killed, mostly chickens, in an effort to prevent the spread.
“That has been the official, federal policy and practice to try to control this virus. As you know, there is no silver bullet for a virus. A virus has a way of mutating. It comes up with new strains, and that’s what we’ve seen,” Gipson continued, noting the current strain circulating globally is H5N1.
MDAC and the Mississippi Board of Animal Health continue to increase monitoring of flocks statewide, encouraging poultry owners to practice good biosecurity and be aware of bird flu symptoms such as lack of energy, decreased or abnormal egg production, and swelling or purple discoloration. An online reporting form for poultry owners who may believe bird flu has struck their coop can be found here.
