Bird flu outbreak is nearing biggest ever in U.S.

Ongoing outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza is nearing a grim toll, with the U.S. soon to overtake the 50.5 million birds lost the last go-round, in 2014-15.
As of Friday, the U.S. had confirmed 2022 detections among 628 commercial and backyard flocks, affecting 50.44 birds, according to the USDA’s Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service.  
Recent outbreaks include a commercial duck breeder with 53,000 birds in California’s Fresno County and a commercial turkey facility in Otter Tail County, Minn., with 28,200 birds impacted. 
HPAI was confirmed on Tuesday at a commercial broiler breeder outfit with 20,900 birds in Bledsoe County, Tenn., marking the first commercial facility in the state to get hit by the virus this year. Previously, two backyard producers were hit by HPAI in Tennessee, one in October and the other in September. 
The poultry-killing virus is also a concern across U.S. borders, with Mexican authorities on Tuesday announcing the country would start vaccinating birds in high-risk areas, Reuters and other news outlets reported.