More than 1.35 million chickens to get the axe as Ohio fights to curb bird flu

25 November 2023 , 14:22

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Millions of chickens are set to be culled (Image: AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

More than 1.3 million chickens are set to be slaughtered on an egg farm as the US continues to battle a bird flu outbreak.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, all 1.35 million chickens at an egg farm in Ohio's Union County are set to be slaughtered to help limit the spread of the highly contagious virus. It comes after a case was confirmed in the flock this week.

The outbreak that began in early 2022 has been far less severe this year with fewer cases of the virus being found among the wild birds that spread it. But there have still been 8.1 million birds killed this year to help control the spread of the disease.

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5.8 million of those have come just this month as several large egg farms have been struck down with the virus. That includes 1.2 million birds at an Iowa egg farm and another 940,000 chickens at one Minnesota egg farm that had to be killed.

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Iowa and Ohio, two of the biggest egg producers in the US, have been hit hard by bird flu (AFP)

Egg farms tend to be far bigger than turkey or chicken farms, sometimes home to millions of birds. It's one of the reasons Iowa, the US's largest egg-producing state, has been hit hardest in this latest outbreak with almost 17.3 million birds killed.

Ohio is another one of the top egg-producing states but has only seen 5.1 million birds killed due to bird flu. Sizeable bird flu outbreaks have also been confirmed on farms in Minnesota, Maryland, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Georgia, and California.

The biggest of those was in Maryland on a chicken farm where 198,200 birds were killed. In 2022 almost 58 million birds were slaughtered as part of the outbreak.

Egg farms are home to millions of chickens (AFP)

The highly contagious virus is spread easily by wild birds through droppings and nasal discharges. Farmers are working hard to keep the virus from infecting their flocks by taking steps like requiring workers to shower and change clothes before entering barns, sanitising trucks that enter a farm and investing in separate sets of tools for every barn.

But the virus is difficult to keep out, especially along the main pathways for migrating birds who are heading south for the winter. Officials have advised bird flu doesn't represent a significant health threat.

Human cases are extremely rare and none of the infected birds are allowed into the nation's food supply. Properly cooking poultry and eggs to 73.89C will also kill any viruses.

Fiona Leishman