The U.S. Agricultural Division has introduced a brand new effort to battle chook flu. NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Leah Douglas, agriculture and vitality reporter at Reuters, in regards to the $1 billion plan.
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Suppose egg costs at your native retailer are excessive now? The U.S. Division of Agriculture says that costs may rise greater than 40% this 12 months. Since 2022, farmers have culled greater than 166 million chickens to forestall the unfold of chook flu. To assist ease the scarcity, the U.S. is importing 15,000 tons of eggs from Turkey, the nation. And on Wednesday, the USDA introduced it’ll spend as much as $1 billion to battle the unfold of chook flu. That is along with 2 billion already spent. Leah Douglas covers agriculture and vitality coverage for Reuters and has been intently following the outbreak in poultry since 2022. Thanks for being right here.
LEAH DOUGLAS: Thanks a lot for having me.
RASCOE: Are you able to give us a way of simply how severe the unfold of chook flu is?
DOUGLAS: Nicely, for poultry farmers, it is actually a major concern. We have really seen among the greatest flocks and a few important outbreaks simply in the previous few months. And so for poultry farmers, it is a main concern, and in addition for dairy farmers who’re seeing the virus unfold in dairy herds as properly.
RASCOE: And what’s the risk to people and different animals?
DOUGLAS: So the first risk to people proper now’s within the farmworker inhabitants that is working with the sick animals. So the CDC has reported 70 circumstances of chook flu amongst people up to now 12 months, and the overwhelming majority of these circumstances had been amongst poultry farmworkers or folks engaged on dairy farms, maybe milking the cows. Past that, the CDC hasn’t but reported any circumstances of human-to-human transmission of the virus that may be extra regarding about its potential for human unfold, however they’re monitoring that very intently.
RASCOE: And one individual has died from this?
DOUGLAS: Sure. One individual in Louisiana did die from chook flu final 12 months.
RASCOE: Is the chook flu outbreak – is that what’s accountable for excessive egg costs, or is there extra to it?
DOUGLAS: Fowl flu is unquestionably a significant component. I used to be at a convention the place the Division of Agriculture’s chief economist was presenting on this concern. He stated that the laying flock – that is the chickens that lay our eggs – is down about 10% from the place the nation would need it to be to maintain up with demand. So there’s a actual provide constraint. There have additionally been questions on whether or not egg corporations are perhaps making the most of this second of constraint provide to hike costs larger than they actually must be, and a few lawmakers have requested for an inquiry into that as properly.
RASCOE: What’s the authorities’s plan to fight chook flu and decrease the value of eggs? What is going to it entail?
DOUGLAS: Nicely, newly appointed Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, on Wednesday, introduced a plan, and an enormous chunk of it goes to serving to farmers, significantly poultry farmers, improve what’s known as biosecurity on their farms. So mainly, the efforts they’ll take to maintain wild birds that is likely to be sick off their property to be sure that technicians and staff and folks coming onto the farm aren’t bringing the virus. So the company is placing about $500 million in the direction of these efforts of prevention, actually.
After which there’s additionally some effort that the company is taking to look into vaccination of birds, which is one thing that was additionally taking place beneath the earlier Biden administration. Trying into vaccines for chickens and cows in addition to one other form of preventative strategy.
RASCOE: Nicely, about these vaccines – as a result of scientists have developed a vaccine, however I collect it isn’t broadly used. Why is not it getting used?
DOUGLAS: That is proper. The USDA hasn’t but stated that we must be vaccinating both poultry or cows towards chook flu, and a few of that’s as a result of there’s nonetheless ongoing analysis. The company continues to be amassing data.
The poultry business is split over whether or not to make use of vaccines. So the farmers who develop laying hens – they do assist vaccines as a result of as we have talked about, that is primarily the chickens which might be being affected by the unfold of the virus, so that they really need that to cease.
The growers who produce chickens for meat have been much less impacted, and there is additionally potential commerce implications from vaccinating these animals. And so there is a divide within the business that the agriculture secretary has stated she’s nonetheless eager about whether or not to maneuver ahead with a vaccine technique.
RASCOE: You’ve got been overlaying this story for a very long time. What are the consultants telling you must occur to get this outbreak contained?
DOUGLAS: Consultants are actually telling me that this case is unprecedented. That was the phrase utilized by the USDA’s chief veterinarian. There’s a variety of assist for a vaccine technique as a method of actually attempting to forestall this from persevering with to unfold. Farmers are already implementing biosecurity measures. And I believe there’s elevated consideration to, do we have to transfer to a vaccine, as a result of the efforts that we have been doing for the previous few years clearly haven’t managed the outbreak.
RASCOE: That is Leah Douglas, agriculture and vitality coverage reporter at Reuters. Thanks a lot for becoming a member of us.
DOUGLAS: Thanks for having me.
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