Hundreds of thousands of birds across seven states were affected by bird flu outbreaks within their flocks recently, with authorities in Delaware warning people against coming into contact with sick birds.
Bird flu cases in poultry were reported this week from Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Georgia, Oregon, and Virginia, according to data from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) as of Jan. 23.
In Arkansas, an outbreak affecting 106,900 birds at a commercial broiler production facility in Cleveland County was confirmed on Wednesday. A smaller outbreak involving 500 birds was reported in Illinois.
In Maryland, two outbreaks were confirmed—in Dorchester and Caroline counties, both involving broiler facilities that affected more than 260,000 birds. In Missouri, about 1.32 million birds across three counties—Jasper, Lawrence, and Newton—were affected by outbreaks. The outbreak was found at egg layer and turkey meat facilities….