U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has announced a five-pronged plan to end the avian flu and lower egg prices at the supermarket.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza continues to devastate poultry flocks throughout the United States, as well as cause significant illness in cattle, said David Diemert, MD, professor of medicine and professor of microbiology, immunology, and tropical medicine at George Washington University in Washinton, DC, in an interview.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins says the USDA will unveil the department’s plans to address highly pathogenic avian influenza this week. She tells Brownfield it will be a multi-pronged approach.

The department is trying to rehire the employees as avian influenza causes egg prices to soar and as Elon Musk’s DOGE makes sweeping cuts to government agencies.

An outbreak of H5 avian influenza was confirmed by United States health agencies in mid-2024. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the public health risk is currently low - but states are still monitoring the progression.

A flock of birds in Dare County has tested positive for High Path Avian Influenza and has been depopulated to prevent spread of the disease.The positive test,

Avian flu is not just for the birds; cases have been reported in the United States in dairy cows, as well as types of cats, a fox, a seal, and most recently, rats and domestic indoor cats, according to the latest data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

The presumed-positive flock in Jay County includes 214,000 hens. The Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) reported that the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was detected in a commercial laying hen flock in Jay County, Indiana.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has issued a warning to pet owners after at least two domestic, indoor cats in King and Snohomish counties were infected with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

For the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed the presence of H5N1 avian influenza in rats, raising fresh concerns about the virus’s ability to spread among mammals. The infected black rats were found in Riverside County, California, near recent poultry outbreaks.

ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Zoo has temporarily closed two bird exhibits and altered the hours of another after a dead wood duck on the property was found to have had the avian flu.