This is the first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu in the nation.
It was detected on a duck farm in Merced County and Reuters says that authorities also detected the more common H5N1 strain on the same farm.
Meanwhile a recent outbreak of bird flu in poultry in Georgia, the biggest chicken producer in the U.S., is set to trigger trade restrictions from major meat importers.
Reuters reports that the USDA’s most recent egg price outlook says egg prices were predicted to increase by 20% in 2025, compared to 2.2% for overall food prices.
USA Today says, “The USDA attributed the rise in egg costs to the bird flu outbreak which caused a strain in the number of layers.”
