Dec 20 (Reuters) - U.S. wholesale egg prices are shattering records as an accelerating outbreak of bird flu in laying hens slashes supplies while shoppers buy more to bake Christmas cookies and other holiday treats. ...
“The patient is experiencing severe respiratory illness related to H5N1 infection and is currently hospitalized in critical condition,” said Emma Herrock, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Health Department.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today confirmed 62 more avian flu outbreaks in dairy cattle, all involving California herds. The latest detections lift the state’s total since the end of August to 398 and the national total to 612.
California is the nation’s largest dairy producer, and outbreaks in the Central Valley have now affected nearly one-third of the state’s estimated 1,300 herd.
As H5N1 bird flu continues to spread around the US, health officials recently found that 7 percent of dairy workers tested on farms in two states had evidence of recent infection — and some had signs of infection even when they didn’t feel sick.
