News Filed Under Avian Flu

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- If egg prices have seemed higher than ever lately, it’s because they are, and consumers can place much of the blame squarely at the feet of the ongoing bird flu outbreak.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the national average for a dozen eggs was $6.70 on Jan. 31 -- more than 60% higher than just six weeks before on Dec. 20, 2024, when the average was $4.07 per dozen. The average fluctuated mostly between the $1 to $3 per dozen range in 2024 until mid-October.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A federal raw milk testing mandate has been issued to address bird flu outbreaks in U.S. dairy herds.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, declared the federal order Dec. 6 in response to more than 700 herds in 16 states having tested positive for H5N1. The agency billed the announcement as the start of its National Milk Testing Strategy program.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The transmission risk of H5N1 bird flu to humans remains minimal despite a rise in confirmed cases in dairy cows and poultry in several states and the first known case of a person catching the virus from a mammal.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi Board of Animal Health reported Feb. 23 that a backyard poultry flock in Copiah County tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, often referred to as HPAI or H5N1.

This is the second backyard flock to test positive for HPAI. The first confirmation was in Lowndes County in November 2022. There have also been two detections in commercial broiler flocks, one in Lawrence County in November 2022 and the other in Leake County in February. All affected facilities were quarantined, and the birds were depopulated to prevent spreading.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi Board of Animal Health is asking backyard bird owners to be vigilant in their biosecurity procedures after a commercial breeder chicken flock in Lawrence County tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI.