With egg prices soaring, the Trump administration is planning a new strategy for fighting bird flu -- and it could have big impacts for the poultry industry.
The new strategy will stress vaccinations and tighter biosecurity instead of killing off millions of chickens when the disease strikes a flock, but it doesn't come without its own set of concerns, experts say.
At the same time, the United States Department of Agriculture on Tuesday said that, over the weekend, it accidentally fired "several" agency employees who are working on the federal government's response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak.
In a statement, the agency said it is trying to quickly reverse the firings.
Here's what to know:
What does Trump plan to do to combat bird flu?
The federal government will seek “better ways, with biosecurity and medication and so on” rather than the current standard practice of destroying all the birds on a farm when an infection is detected, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said Sunday on the CBS program “Face the Nation.”
Health
Hasset said the administration planned to announce further details this week. He said they were “working with all the best people in government, including academics around the country and around the world,” to get the plan ready.
Spokespeople for the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to messages Tuesday seeking more information.
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Hassett didn't provide many details of how the Trump administration's new approach would work. But he said it would involve a “better, smarter perimeter” around poultry farms. He said it doesn't make sense to kill all the chickens inside that perimeter when the disease is being spread by wild ducks and geese.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told “Fox and Friends” that her first briefing after being sworn in was on bird flu.
“We are looking at every possible scenario to ensure that we are doing everything we can in a safe, secure manner but also to ensure that Americans have the food that they need," Rollins told Fox News.
What currently happens when a bird flu outbreak is detected?
Normally when chickens or turkeys start dying from the disease, officials will "depopulate,” or destroy all the birds on the farm to prevent it from spreading.
But the resulting culling of millions of chickens per month has caused egg prices to skyrocket, with shortages that have led some retailers to ration sales. The average price of a dozen Grade A eggs in U.S. cities hit $4.95 in January, and the USDA predicts it will soar another 20% this year.
Multiple grocery store chains, including Aldi and Costco, are implementing limits on egg purchases amid the biggest bird flu outbreak in a decade.
What to know about bird flu vaccines
The poultry industry has long resisted vaccinating flocks against bird flu because of the potential impacts on export markets, as well as the expense. Most U.S. trading partners won't accept exports from countries that allow vaccinations due to concerns that vaccines can mask the presence of the virus.
“We support the administration and their goals to bring down food inflation and cut regulatory red tape and hopefully eliminate this virus," said Tom Super, spokesman for the National Chicken Council, which represents the broiler industry which produces chickens for meat. But he said in an interview that producers need ”robust trade protection” to ensure they don’t lose markets.
Leaders of the Congressional Chicken Caucus said in a letter to Rollins last week that while the egg industry has lost the most birds, the broiler industry could bear a disproportionate share of the costs of any policy change. According to USDA figures 77.5% of the nearly 159 million commercial birds lost to avian influenza since February 2022 have been layers, or over 123 million. That compares to 13.7 million broilers, or 8.6%, and 18.7 million turkeys, or 11.8%.
Avian influenza vaccines have long been available. Animal health company Zoetis announced on Friday that it had received a conditional license from the USDA for a new vaccine. But using it would be up to federal authorities in partnership with the industry, the company said in a statement. Other manufacturers are also working on them.
Dr. Carol Cardona, a bird flu expert at the University of Minnesota, said tighter biosecurity to prevent cross-contamination and limit outbreaks to one barn "requires an incredible amount of work on the ground,” she said.
'I've seen it work,” Cardona said in an interview. “I've seen it fail dramatically in other cases.”
For “precision depopulation" to work, she said, there must be effective barriers to transmission between barns, such as ensuring that farm workers don't carry the virus on their boots or clothes. And workers need to be alert for the earliest signs of abnormal deaths, she added.
Another barrier is the logistical difficulty in giving shots to up to 3 million birds or more at a single egg farm. Current vaccines are all injectables. Farms might opt to limit them to new pullets coming onto a farm, she said.
Vaccines that could be economically administered through a farm's water supply would require new innovations, Cardona said. But until there's a market for vaccines, she said, there won't be an incentive to develop them.
"Today’s technology isn’t where were going to be for long, but it’s where we’re at,” Cardona said.
What is bird flu?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bird flu is "a disease caused by avian influenza A viruses that usually spread between birds."
Who can contract bird flu?
Bird flu has been spreading for years in wild birds, chickens, turkeys and many other animals. It was first confirmed in U.S. dairy cattle in March.
Human cases are rare and mostly found among farmworkers, though at least one person has died from bird flu this winter so far — a Louisiana man over the age of 65 who was hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms.
While the virus typically doesn't infect humans, one subtype, known as H5, is spreading around the globe in wild birds and causing outbreaks in U.S. poultry and dairy cows. This particular strain, known as H5N1, has also led to human infections.
In total six subtypes of bird flu viruses have infected humans, according to the CDC. They include: H3, H5, H6, H7, H9, and H10.
CDC officials said that bird flu is still mainly an animal health issue and that the risk to the general public remains low.
Pets are also at risk. Though cases of infection are rare, cats also seem especially susceptible to the bird flu virus, or Type A H5N1. Even before the cattle outbreak, there were feline cases linked to wild birds or poultry. Since March, dozens of cats have caught the virus. These include barn and feral cats, indoor cats, and big cats in zoos and in the wild.
A voluntary recall was issued for a line of raw and frozen pet food after a cat died of bird flu, a case that Oregon officials connected to the feline’s contaminated food.
Dogs seem to be less vulnerable than cats, but they should eat only thoroughly cooked foods, Bailey said.
What are the symptoms of bird flu?
According to the CDC, symptoms typically range from no symptoms at all to mild symptoms, though some may experience more moderate to severe complications.
The most common symptom associated with recent infections has been eye redness.
Mild signs and symptoms may include:
- eye redness and irritation (conjunctivitis)
- mild fever (temperature of 100ºF [37.8ºC] or greater) or feeling feverish
- cough
- sore throat
- runny or stuff nose
- muscle or body aches
- headaches
- fatigue
Less common symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting.
Signs and Symptoms of Moderate to Severe Disease
- high fever
- shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- altered consciousness
- seizures
Symptoms in pets
Cats sick with bird flu might experience loss of appetite, lethargy and fever.
If your cat is usually playful and likes to look out the window, but instead has been sleeping all the time or hiding from you, take note," Dr. Michael Q. Bailey, president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association, said. “There’s something wrong."
They could have reddened or inflamed eyes and discharge from the eyes and nose. They might have difficulty breathing or have tremors or seizures.
If your cat is sick, call your veterinary clinic and keep the cat away from anyone with a weakened immune system.
The latest on outbreaks
Nationwide, the virus has been detected in more than 80 commercial and backyard flocks in the last month, with 10.7 million birds on those sites, according to the latest online data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It has also been confirmed in dozens of dairy farms.
In the Midwest, animal cases have been confirmed in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin.
Hundreds of birds have been found dead along Lake Michigan's shore in recent weeks with bird flu suspected in their deaths. Bald eagles have been sickened and even killed with bird flu cases in multiple suburbs.
A family-run farm in south suburban Matteson was left grappling after a bird flu outbreak wiped out its entire flock.
Bird flu is also being cited as the cause of the recent deaths of a Chilean flamingo and harbor seal at Lincoln Park Zoo.
While no commercial flocks or cattle in Illinois have reported detected bird flu cases so far, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said it was tracking "a large event of waterfowl mortality at numerous locations throughout Illinois."
