The bird flu epidemic is starting to take its toll on poultry farmers and consumers, both in the U.S. and abroad, with a ban on imports from San Joaquin County and other locations.
In what could be an early sign of trouble for U.S. exports, Hong Kong’s public health agency announced Monday it is imposing a ban on the import of poultry meat and eggs from select counties in six U.S. states. Besides San Joaquin County in California, Marin County also was singled out for the suspension.
At the same time, egg prices are skyrocketing as chicken producers have had to thin or annihilate entire flocks because of the outbreak.
Eggs prices spiking
The price of a dozen whole eggs hit a record $5.57 last week in the Midwest, Reuters reported, citing data from market research firm Expana. Prices are up 150% from a year ago at a time when holiday baking is at its height.
Prices exceeding $8 a dozen have been reported in California. The state has a robust poultry industry, which has been infected by avian influenza. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency last week to better position California to respond to the outbreak.
Health officials have emphasized there is low risk to the public of contracting H5N1. That includes from consuming properly cooked and handled poultry or poultry products like eggs.
Hong Kong bans imports from San Joaquin County
Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety said that in addition to California, it is banning poultry meat and egg imports from other counties in several states, including South and North Dakota, Iowa, Tennessee and Utah. In addition, the ban was extended to Norfolk County in the United Kingdom.
The foreign food safety organization said the ban is in response to notifications from the World Organisation for Animal Health concerning bird flu.
The CFS said it was taking the action immediately “to protect public health in Hong Kong.” The “special administrative region” of China, as the U.S. State Department now terms Hong Kong, imported 63,470 tons of chilled and frozen poultry meat and about 17.2 million eggs from the U.S. in the first nine months of the year.
“The CFS has contacted the American and British authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” the agency said in a statement.
It is yet to be seen whether the poultry and egg ban will extend to mainland China, which controls Hong Kong.
California dairies also infected
Bird flu has also spread to cattle in California and other states. In some instances, farmworkers have contracted the illness from close contact with cows.
The illness has spread from dairy herds in the Central Valley to Southern California and has infected more than 650 herds across the country, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
California’s state of emergency was issued mainly in response to infections found in dairy cattle, which have also tainted raw milk. A dairy called Raw Farm in Fresno voluntarily recalled one lot of “cream top” whole raw milk after health officials in Santa Clara County detected the virus in a sample.
How bird flu came to San Joaquin County
Poultry producers have been hit especially hard. They have had to kill entire flocks to try to prevent spread of the illness.
Bird flu made its way to chickens at a farm in San Joaquin County, officials said last month, joining Kings, Kern, Sacramento, Tulare, Merced and Fresno counties in the outbreak.
“They will be depopulating on that ranch,” Kamal Bagri, San Joaquin County’s agricultural commissioner, said at the time — meaning the entire poultry farm may be eradicated.
Earlier this month, the county also saw its first human infections. The two cases involved farmworkers who had close contact with animals. They are among 36 human cases reported in the state as of Dec. 20.
An Alameda County child tested positive for bird flu last month. The infection was the first known case in California that does not appear to have originated from contact with infected cattle.
Like all human cases in California, the farmworkers’ and the child’s illnesses were considered mild, officials said. Sick workers have reported flu-like symptoms in addition to pink eye. There have been no documented cases of human-to-human transmission, state health officials say, and the general public’s risk remains low.
Officials did, however, stress the importance for farmworkers to wear gloves, masks, boots and other personal protective equipment in order to avoid contact with the disease.
“We have an abundance of dairy farms in our county and want to ensure that these farmworkers can do their important work as safely as possible by using PPE,” said Maggie Park, the county’s public health officer. “We are also encouraging the public to avoid consuming raw milk or raw eggs and not to handle any dead bird.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.