broiler hens in one of his chicken houses in Luling, TXThe highly pathogenic bird flu continues its toll in the United States, now identified in a total of 12 states just one month after the first confirmed case. Missouri, Maryland and South Dakota have now been added to the roster with a toll of 1.9 million culled birds due to the disease. The last bird flu epidemic in 2014/2015 led to the elimination of more than 50 million chickens and turkeys, or about 12% of the U.S. table-egg laying population and 8% of meat turkeys.

The largest loss so far in 2022 was 1.2 million “commercial poultry” in New Castle County in Delaware, though to date, Indiana has had the large number of outbreaks.

Read more on the spread of avian influenza here.