Bell Bird Control is very concerned about the spread of Avian Flu (called highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or simply bird flu in all of its forms: H5N1 D1.1 genotype, H5N1 B3.13 genotype, and H5N9) in the US. We are tracking the news closely and note that encounters with birds and their droppings are suspected disease vectors. The bird flu outbreak has affected wild bird populations, which then in turn intermingle with farm animals, wild mammals, and poultry farms. The results have been infected cows, flu found in raw milk and dairy, the spread of illness and subsequent culling of chickens, egg-laying hens, and ducks. Wild fowl, large cats, and domestic cats have all gotten ill.

During this outbreak of HPAI, there has been transmission to 70 people in the US causing 1 fatality. Scientists are concerned about the flu morphing and evolving to allow human to human transmission.

We will track news and provide hyperlinks so you can read the updates from these local and national news sites, government resources, and public health experts.

Food prices are affected with general production of eggs hampered and birds as a source of protein being affected. A good question is why the bird flu’s impact on chicken prices has been relatively compared to egg prices which jumped significantly?

What's affected first - the chicken or the egg? In this case: the egg! Bird flu hits egg prices more immediately and substantially because egg-laying hens take longer to replace than broiler chickens for meat. Farmers note that it takes 6-8 weeks for chickens to reach their slaughter weight.

Whereas hens take 18 weeks for a chicken to start laying eggs. Hens lay about 5 eggs per week over the next 120 weeks before these chickens are sent to the happy pecking grounds.

In sum, egg supply declines last longer, while demand stays high. Chicken meat production has the ability to bounce back faster with shorter maturity cycles.

On February 10, 2025 CNN reported, “Egg prices have soared recently because of the avian influenza, which is responsible for the deaths of more than 40 million egg-laying birds last year. Due to the short supply, egg prices rose 14% from November to December alone — and they are projected to rise another 20% this year, according to the US Department of Agriculture.”

CDC finds vets working with dairy cattle unknowingly exposed to H5N1 avian flu.

In other developments, the US Centers for Disease Control, finally issued an update on Avian flu to its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), which showed that some veterinarians working with cattle were unknowingly infected with the H5N1 (avian flu) virus last year.

The report is the latest to indicate that the outbreak in dairy cattle is spreading further under the wire. The CDC report was one of several MMWR reports on avian flu that were to have been released three weeks ago. 

In other report published this week, the CDC cited new USDA data on the rapid spread of H5N1 bird flu in poultry, showing some 157 million birds have so far been affected, since the first detections in 2022. The outbreak has caught the attention of the US public as the price of eggs soars to a 50-year high. 

CBS News Minnesota - Minnesota to test raw milk for bird flu virus

BBC - Farmers say bird flu a 'crisis' as egg prices soar

NY Times - Bird Flu in Cows Is a Slow-Motion Disaster

NY Times - Dairy Workers May Have Passed Bird Flu to Pet Cats, C.D.C. Study Suggests

CBS News - Bird flu confirmed in rats for first time, USDA reports

Bloomberg News - Bird Flu Kills Dairy Workers’ Cats, Suggesting A Viral Change: Movement Between Species Indicates New Mutations In h5N1

CBS 8 - Rats infected with the bird flu discovered in Riverside County

CBS Minnesota - Minnesota bird flu, wolf tracking programs clouded in uncertainty amid Trump’s federal funding freeze

CBS Minnesota - Minnesota has confirmed there are three separate viruses infecting birds and cattle. 

NBC News - USDA says it accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is now trying to rehire them -Over Presidents’ Day weekend, the FDA accidentally fired "several" agency employees who are working on the federal government's response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak.

The agency said it is now trying to quickly reverse the firings.

"Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," a USDA spokesperson said in a statement. "USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfill our statutory mission."

AP News - As egg prices soar, Trump administration plans new strategy to fight bird flu

Fox News - Minnesota Declares State Of Emergency As Diseases Cripple Midwestern Farms: Three different viruses are affecting animals.

The Travel - Minnesota Declares State Of Emergency Amid A Trifecta of Viral Outbreaks

Science - U.S. Conditionally Approves Vaccine To Protect Poultry From Avian Flu - The decision brings U.S. poultry farmers a step closer to immunizing their flocks. Although many influenza researchers contend that vaccination can help control spread of the deadly virus, the U.S. government has long resisted allowing its use because of politics and trade concerns that many contend are unscientific. The USDA approval may signal a shift in policy linked to the Trump administration’s worries about egg prices. Even with the conditional approval, USDA must still approve its use before farmers can start to administer the vaccine because special regulations apply to H5N1 and other so-called highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses.

ABC News- 2nd bird flu virus detected in western US. What does this mean for prevention? The different strain, D1.1, was recently found in cattle for the first time.

CIDRAP - Avian flu hits more commercial and backyard poultry in 9 states

AP - US eggs prices hit a record high of $4.95 and are likely to keep climbing

PBS News - CDC finds evidence that bird flu spread silently to veterinarians, suggesting undercount of cases

NPR - After delay, CDC releases data signaling bird flu spread undetected in cows and people   

CBS News - What to know about bird flu in 2025, from how it's spread to symptoms and egg impacts

CDC - Notes from the Field: Seroprevalence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5) Virus Infections Among Bovine Veterinary Practitioners — United States, September 2024

The Columbus Dispatch - Ohio Department of Health reports first human case of bird flu in the state

NYC.GOV - Mayor Adams Announces City Health Department Precautions After Birds Test Positive for Bird flu - New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Acting Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse today announced additional steps New York City is taking — out of an abundance of caution — after birds in the city tested positive for H5N1, a type of avian influenza, also known as bird flu

Crain’s New York Business - New York braces for bird flu risk

News 12 NJ - New Jersey live poultry markets ordered to undergo cleaning amid uptick in bird flu cases. - There’s currently no mandate from the state for chicken markets to shut down. However, the state’s Department of Agriculture has asked for those businesses to do a voluntary cleaning. According to the Department of Agriculture, there haven’t been any cases of bird flu in poultry at live markets or backyard flocks in New Jersey. These closures are out of an abundance of caution.

In a statement, the agency said in part, “In response to the HPAI cases in New York City, we have asked that live bird markets in New Jersey do a voluntary cleaning and disinfection of their market and equipment and then wait a prescribed downtime per industry protocols before restocking their markets." Distributors to live bird markets have also been asked to do a cleaning and disinfection of their facilities.

CNN - Costco and Trader Joe’s are limiting how many eggs people can buy - “Due to ongoing issues with the supply of eggs, we are currently limiting egg purchases to one dozen per customer, per day, in all Trader Joe’s stores across the country,” a grocery chain spokesperson told CNN.

Costco also confirmed that it was limiting customers to three packages of eggs, typically sold in two-dozen or four-dozen cartons.

Egg prices have soared recently because of the avian influenza, which is responsible for the deaths of more than 40 million egg-laying birds last year. Due to the short supply, egg prices rose 14% from November to December alone — and they are projected to rise another 20% this year, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

nj.com - Avian flu suspected in deaths of 30 wild birds found on N.J. river banks - The bodies of more than 30 birds were removed from the banks of Shark River in Monmouth County this week, with avian influenza suspected to be the cause of death, local officials said February 7, 2025. Monique Berry-Franklin, a Wall Township resident, said she spotted about 10 birds strewn on the sand — seven swans, two snow geese and a small duck, by her count. Other birds swimming in the river looked sick, their necks drooping low to the water.

nypost.com- Activists accuse NYC shops of selling ‘sickly’ chickens in scramble before bird-flu shutdown - Animal activists accused several Brooklyn and Queens markets of selling “sickly-looking” live chickens as they scrambled to clear inventory before a state-mandated shutdown due to the bird flu.

New York State - Governor Hochul Announces Additional Measures to Prevent Spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Poultry - New York State Issues Notice and Order Requiring Cleaning, Disinfection, and Temporary Closure of all Live Bird Markets in New York City, Westchester, Suffolk and Nassau Counties. Proactive Effort Will Facilitate a Break in HPAI Virus Transmission Within the Markets and Further Protect Animal and Public Health. Follows Detection of Avian Flu at Seven Live Bird Markets in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. Builds on Governor Hochul’s Continued Direction to State Agencies To Take Proactive Prevention Measures as Risk to Humans Remains Low

Crain's New York Business - Live bird markets in the city, suburbs shuttered after avian flu detected

NY Times - C.D.C. Posts, Then Deletes, Data on Bird Flu Spread Between Cats and People - The data, which appeared fleetingly online on Wednesday February 5, 2025, confirmed transmission in two households. Scientists called on the agency to release the full report.

Lohud.com - Bird flu confirmed in Rockland; H5N1 suspected in other dead geese found in Spring Valley - If you find more than one dead bird in one place, report it using the NYSDEC Avian Influenza Reporting form, which can be found at dec.ny.gov. The Canada goose tested for H5N1 was found in Lake Lucille. Other dead geese found in Spring Valley's Memorial Park weren't tested but bird flu is considered likely.

China CDC Weekly - Outbreak Reports: Infection Tracing and Virus Genomic Analysis of Two Cases of Human Infection with Avian Influenza A(H5N6) — Fujian Province, China, April–May 2024 - "Genetic analyses revealed that while the virus maintains its avian host tropism, it has acquired mutations that may enhance human receptor binding affinity, viral replication capacity, pathogenicity, and neuraminidase inhibitor resistance."

Gothamist - Bird flu suspected in deaths across multiple species at Queens and Bronx zoo The avian flu has recently killed as many as 15 birds at the Queens and Bronx zoos, officials confirmed to Gothamist on Friday, revealing new details about the extent of the outbreak that prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul to shutter live poultry markets around the city. The rash of infections has also killed a red tailed hawk in the Bronx and a great horned owl in Queens, according to records from the Department of Environmental Protection.

Los Angeles Times - A cat in San Mateo was diagnosed with bird flu on the same day the CDC deleted evidence that cats may transmit the virus to humans - Scientists found that a pet cat in San Mateo County died of complications related to H5N1 bird flu. The virus was also discovered in a backyard poultry flock in Redwood City. Meanwhile, the CDC published data showing that the disease can be transmitted from cats to humans — but those data were removed within minutes of their initial publication.

NY Times - 20 Big Cats Die From Bird Flu at a Washington Sanctuary

Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy - Nine states report more avian flu in poultry, including more layer farms

NY Times - Cows Have Been Infected With a Second Form of Bird Flu - A new version of the virus is widespread in wild birds but had not previously been detected in cows.

CIDRAP - USDA confirms spillover of 2nd H5N1 avian flu genotype into dairy cattle - he US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today announced a new spillover of H5N1 avian flu to dairy cattle, which involves the D1.1 genotype currently circulating in wild birds and has been implicated in human infections, including the fatal case in a Louisiana resident who had contact with sick backyard birds.

Until now, all dairy herd H5N1 detections have involved the B3.13 genotype, thought to be the result of a single spillover from wild birds in late 2023 or early 2024. The genotype has been linked to mild infections in dairy workers, along with some poultry cullers, with conjunctivitis the main symptom.

"Genotype D1.1 represents the predominant genotype in the North American flyways this past fall and winter and has been identified in wild birds, mammals, and spillovers into domestic poultry," APHIS said in its statement.

Reuters - Second bird flu strain found in US dairy cattle, USDA says - Second bird flu strain detected in dairy cattle for first time. Detection came through national milk testing program. Containment is critical, veterinary expert says

NY Times - Could the Bird Flu Become Airborne? - Scientists were slow to recognize that Covid spreads through the air. Some are now trying to get ahead of the bird flu.

NY State Department of Health - HEALTH ADVISORY: Accelerated Subtyping of Influenza A in Hospitalized Patients - CDC & NY State is now recommending the IMMEDIATE testing & subtyping of all hospitalized flu A cases & unknown/suspected flu cases—in order to identify human bird flu. Bell Bird Control infers that the CDC is concerned if avian flu has now crossed into wide community transmission.

Patch - Bird Flu Kills Almost All Chickens, Ducks On A Hudson Valley Farm

Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy - Avian flu strikes second biggest US egg producer

Vox.com - Eggs are pricey again. What’s the government doing about it? And four other burning bird flu questions, answered. - Bird flu is surging in the US again and has, once again, sent egg prices skyrocketing. Nearly 13 million birds have been infected or culled in the past month alone, contributing to shortages. A carton of eggs today costs more than $4 on average, up from about $2.50 a year ago.

Prices aren’t the only thing making headlines — the virus has recently taken a human life, too. After nearly three years of warnings from leading public health and animal agriculture experts that bird flu was becoming a threat to human beings, Louisiana health officials reported earlier this month that an individual died from the virus, the first reported human death in the US from bird flu.

This particular strain of bird flu, H5N1, has been circulating in the US and infecting poultry since February 2022. So far, millions of birds have been infected or were culled to prevent further spread. But, as Vox reported previously, the concern has always been that this strain could jump from birds, then to another animal, and then to humans, and evolve along the way into something much deadlier to humans.

In March 2024, the virus made its way to US dairy cows. About a month later, Americans began getting infected in greater numbers — the majority of those infected, health officials say, were exposed to commercial cattle or poultry farms. Today, nearly 1,000 cattle herds across 16 states have been affected, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The deceased Louisiana patient, however, was infected by backyard poultry wild birds. The individual was older than 65 years old and had underlying medical conditions, which likely increased their risk for severe disease and death, as it does for conventional flu.

This case brings the total number of documented human infections in the US to 67. Human infections have been reported in 10 states so far, but most cases have occurred in California, where the governor declared a state of emergency in December 2024.

NY Times - Egg Prices Are High. They Will Likely Go Higher. - Avian influenza has led to a shortage of eggs and wholesale prices that are through the roof. Consumers can expect to feel the pain for a while.Item description

NY Magazine - Bird Flu Is Wiping Out the City’s Duck Supply

NJ Star Ledger nj.com - 140 wild birds in N.J. likely died from the bird flu. Here’s why that’s important.

NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection - Murphy Administration Updates Public on Steps Being Taken to Track and Respond to H5N1 Avian Influenza - Outbreak Reported in Localized Wild Bird Populations, Public Health Threats Remain Low. The Murphy Administration today reminded the public that state agencies continue to aggressively monitor occurrences of H5N1 avian influenza, also known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), in domestic and wild bird populations. While there have been recent confirmations of deaths in localized wild bird populations in parts of New Jersey, there have been no recent reports in domestic poultry or cattle and no human infections in the state.

northjersey.com - New Jersey ramps up efforts to fight bird flu after spike in wild bird deaths - Since late December 2024, the virus has been detected in wild birds at over 30 sites statewide, officials said. Clusters of sick and dead birds, mostly snow geese and Canada geese, were reported in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Salem and Warren counties.

University of Chicago Medicine - 7 things you can do to prevent getting bird flu - 1. Only consume pasteurized dairy products. 2. Refrigerate — and cook — your eggs, meat and poultry. 3. Get your human influenza vaccine. 4. Protect and vaccinate your pets. 5. Avoid contact with wild, sick or dead birds and livestock. 6. Wash your hands thoroughly and often. 7. Follow public health recommendations.

North Jersey .com - North Jersey wastewater sample tests positive for bird flu. Here's what it means - A wastewater sample from the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission tested positive for H5 bird flu this week, according to WastewaterSCAN, a monitoring program.

Salon.com - How America lost control of bird flu, setting the stage for another pandemic

Salon.com - "Concerning" bird flu mutations in Louisiana patient underscores pandemic potential of H5N1

NY Magazine - How Alarming Is the H5N1 Bird-Flu Mutation in Louisiana? - So what is concerning about this case in Louisiana?
That we are seeing a huge increase in the number of human cases. These mutations are a good example of what happens when you have a human case. You start to see the virus begin to adapt to a human host. Even though this particular virus from this particular case isn’t a huge concern in terms of onward transmission, if we’re having human cases tick up and up and up, we’re going to give the virus more chances to develop mutations. And if that’s not detected and starts spreading in the human population, that’s a very good way to have a pandemic start out of this.

The other concern is the timing of all of these cases, which are ticking up right during flu season. If you get infected with two influenza viruses at the same time — so H5N1 and a seasonal influenza strain — a process can occur that’s called reassortment. That’s essentially like shuffling two decks of cards together, ending up making new viruses that have a combination of segments from both of the viruses that were infecting the person. That can lead to really, really rapid evolutionary jumps and rapid adaptation to a new host.

Most of the historical flu pandemics have been associated with reassortment. The current cattle outbreak is itself a recent reassortment between two different avian influenza strains. Some serology studies show that, at least with farm workers, there are cases going undetected. And if there are more human cases, that is giving the virus more opportunity to get experience with the human host and increasing the chance of reassortment because it’s seasonal-flu time of year.

CNN - We ‘have our head in the sand’: Health experts warn US isn’t reacting fast enough to threat of bird flu - The US hasn’t learned lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic that it could use to mitigate the threat of pathogens like H5N1 bird flu that keep showing signs of their own pandemic potential, health experts told CNN.

“We kind of have our head in the sand about how widespread this is from the zoonotic standpoint, from the animal-to-human standpoint,” Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator under President Donald Trump, said on “CNN Newsroom” with Pamela Brown.

CIDRAP - CDC: H5N1 mutations in severely ill patient could boost spread, but risk remains low - The genetic analysis of the H5N1 avian flu virus in specimens from the nation's first severely ill hospitalized patient in Louisianareveals mutations that may enable upper-airway infection and greater transmission, concludes a technical summaryfrom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

STAT News - CDC says H5N1 bird flu sample shows mutations that may help the virus bind to cells in the upper airways of people - H5N1 bird flu in patient shows mutations likely gained post-infection

NY Times - California Declares an Emergency Over Bird Flu in Cattle

Salon.com - LA County warns bird flu is killing cats as human cases top 65 nationwide

NY Times - How Worried Should We Be About Bird Flu?

NJ Department of Health - First H5 Influenza Detection in Wastewater in New Jersey

Salon.com - A single mutation could make bird flu much worse, study finds

NY Times - Agriculture Department to Require Testing of U.S. Milk Supply for Bird Flu Virus

NY Times - How the Messy Process of Milking Cows Can Spread Bird Flu

On America’s large dairy farms, milking is a vast operation, and the potential for disease transmission is worrying, health experts say.

NY Times Bird Flu, Explained

NY Times - A Bird Flu Pandemic Would Be One of the Most Foreseeable Catastrophes in History

NY Times - Opinion: I Ran Operation Warp Speed. I’m Concerned About Bird Flu. - As Donald Trump gets ready to return to the White House on Jan. 20, he must be prepared to tackle one issue immediately: the possibility that the spreading avian flu might mutate to enable human-to-human transmission.

I was the Biden administration’s chief science officer during Covid-19. I was a co-leader of Operation Warp Speed, which began in Mr. Trump’s first term to accelerate the development of Covid-19 vaccines. I worked on the purchase and rollout of hundreds of millions of doses and on developing antiviral treatments. One of my jobs was to assess the trajectory of the virus.

Now I am back at my job teaching at the medical school at the University of California, San Francisco. I have been monitoring the spread of bird flu, also known as H5N1, and discussing the situation with colleagues around the country. My concern is growing.

So far, there have been no reports of person-to-person spread of H5N1, though there have been at least 55 confirmed cases of bird flu in humans in the United States, almost entirely among poultry and dairy workers. Those infections are presumed to be primarily the result of contact with animals. In addition, a child in Alameda County in California with minor respiratory symptoms tested positive for H5N1 recently; it is unclear how the child became infected. There are probably other cases out there that are not being diagnosed….

As for vaccines, there has been modest progress on candidates for mRNA vaccines, which stimulate the body’s immune system against a specific virus. The candidates could offer more effective countermeasures in response to worrisome mutations. Importantly, the companies that increased production of the mRNA vaccines during Covid-19 are developing bird flu vaccines.

Fortunately, the country already has five million doses of the influenza A (H5) vaccine on hand, and another five million doses will probably be ready by the end of the year. That is enough to cover the farmworker community. That vaccine is expected to have similar effectiveness to that of our seasonal flu vaccines, from 30 to 70 percent.

No one knows how many mutations will be required to set off human-to-human respiratory spread. That could require many mutations and may never happen. But we could also be just two or three mutations away. If the virus begins to transmit efficiently among humans, it will be very difficult to contain, according to the Johns Hopkins assessment, and “the likelihood of a pandemic is very high.”

The incoming Trump administration needs to be prepared.

CNN - CNN BUSINESS NEWS Egg prices are going even higher. This time it’s Avian flu and the holidays

NY Times - The World Is Watching the U.S. Deal With Bird Flu, and It’s Scary

American Farm Bureau Federation - Avian Influenza Hits Turkeys and Eggs Hardest

Scientific American - A Bird Flu Vaccine Might Come Too Late to Save Us from H5N1 - If the influenza virus infecting cattle workers starts a pandemic, help in the form of a vaccine is months away

CNN - The U.S. is entering a riskier season for the spread of H5N1 bird flu. Here’s why experts are worried. - With the approach of fall and cooler weather across the United States, officials say the risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus could rise — and they’re taking steps to prevent the creation of a hybrid flu virus that could more easily infect humans.

KFF Health News - Bird Flu Cases Are Going Undetected, New Study Suggests. It's a Problem for All of Us.

MEDRXIV -A One Health Investigation into H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus Epizootics on Two Dairy Farms

Vox.com - Over 100 Million Chickens Are Dead, The Bird Flu Doom Loop: Is Bird Flu Here To Stay? - For more than two years, the US poultry industry has been battling a highly virulent strain of avian influenza, or bird flu. The virus has driven up egg and turkey prices and crossed over from infecting just birds to numerous mammalian species, including sea lions, mice, cats, dairy cows, and, increasingly, humans.

And it shows no signs of stopping — only reaching new milestones.

Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy - Study suggests earlier US-licensed H5N1 vaccines prompt antibodies to current strain