(VOVWORLD) - Avian flu has wiped out 50.54 million birds in the United States this year, making it the country's deadliest outbreak in history, US Department of Agriculture data indicates.
 H5N1 vaccination for ducks in Villars-Les-Dombes, France (photo: AFP/VNA) |
The outbreak in the United States, which began in February, has spread to poultry and birds in 46 states. The cause of transmission is poultry contact with wild birds carrying highly pathogenic influenza A virus (HPAI).
Losses of poultry flocks sent prices for eggs and turkey to record highs, worsening economic pain for consumers facing red-hot inflation and making Thursday's Thanksgiving celebrations more expensive in the United States.
Meanwhile, the European Union and the UK are also suffering from the avian flu crisis. An estimated 50 million poultry have been culled. Some supermarkets in the UK had to split the rations of eggs purchases after the avian flu outbreak has disrupted supply.