One of the leading fresh egg producers in the United States has halted production at its Texas plant due to the discovery of bird flu among their flock. The virus was also detected at their poultry facility in Michigan.
Cal-Maine Foods, headquartered in Mississippi, reported that about 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets, constituting approximately 3.6% of its total flock, were euthanized after the infection was identified at their Pramer County, Texas facility.
The company stated on Tuesday that it continues to collaborate closely with federal, state, and local government authorities as well as focused industry groups to minimize the risk of further outbreaks and effectively manage the response.
Cal-Maine Foods is actively seeking to secure production from other facilities to reduce disruption to its customers, according to a released statement.
The company reassured consumers that eggs currently available in the market pose no known bird flu risk, and no recalls of eggs have been issued. Eggs that are handled and cooked properly remain safe to consume, as stated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The announcement from Cal-Maine comes shortly after state health officials disclosed a case of bird flu in a person who had contact with infected cows. However, the risk to the public remains low as such occurrences are rare.
Reports emerged last week of dairy cows in Texas and Kansas being infected with bird flu. Federal agriculture officials later confirmed infections in a Michigan dairy herd that had recently received cows from Texas.
The human case in Texas represents the first documented instance globally of a person contracting this strain of bird flu from a mammal, according to federal health authorities. The infection was linked to the recent discovery of the virus in dairy cows.
The infected patient in Texas, who was diagnosed with bird flu, was being treated with antiviral medication. Their only reported symptom was redness in the eye.
The virus has been identified in hundreds of mammal species worldwide in recent years. It was first recognized as a threat to humans during a 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong, and since then, more than 460 people have died from bird flu infections over the past two decades, according to the World Health Organization.
This marks only the second documented case in the United States of a person being diagnosed with the Type A H5N1 virus. The previous case occurred in 2022, when a prison inmate contracted the virus while culling infected birds at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado. The inmate's sole symptom was fatigue, and they recovered. Texas officials have not disclosed the identity of the newly infected person or provided details about their contact with the cows.
