About 3% of U.S. egg layers lost to bird flu

"Nearly 11.8 million egg-laying hens — three of every 100 in the U.S. flock — have died in outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in less than a month, USDA data released on Tuesday show. The latest losses were 1.46 million hens in Guthrie County in central Iowa," Chuck Abbott reports for the Food & Environment Reporting Network.

"The number of commercial and backyard detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Iowa this year is less than a 10th of the nation’s total, yet the state accounts for about 43% of the total birds affected, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data," Jared Strong reports for Iowa Capital Dispatch. "That’s because Iowa’s infected flocks have been much larger than those of other states."

"Laying hens account for most of the 17 million chickens, turkeys, and other domestic poultry lost to HPAI in the first U.S. outbreak of the viral disease in two years," Abbott reports. "More than 50 million birds, mostly chickens and turkeys in Iowa and Minnesota, died in an HPAI epidemic in 2014-15. Iowa is No. 1 in eggs and Minnesota is the top turkey-producing state. The 2014-15 epidemic created egg shortages in grocery stores."

The virus is commonly spread by the droppings and feathers of migratory birds flying overhead. Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology has an interactive map with bird migration forecasts and live updates.