Bird Flu Outbreak Forces Egg Farm To Euthanize 3 Million Chickens

An egg farm in Ohio was forced to euthanize its entire flock due to an outbreak of bird flu. The Ohio Department of Agriculture said it received two reports of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in the state.

The first group of infections was detected in a backyard flock in Ashland County, and the second group was found at a commercial chicken flock in Defiance County. The egg farm, which was not identified, has started the process of euthanizing nearly three million chickens to prevent the virus from spreading.

There were no human cases of bird flu related to either outbreak. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the last human case of bird flu was detected in Colorado in late April.

So far this year, bird flu outbreaks have been detected in 39 states and have resulted in the deaths of nearly 44 million birds. There have been 200 outbreaks in commercial flocks and 229 outbreaks reported in backyard flocks.