VISALIA —Bird flu has spread to a poultry farm in Tulare County and continues to hit more San Joaquin Valley dairies and dairy workers.
The poultry farm has a flock of 786,600 birds, according to the USDA Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Poultry farms in Washington and Utah, with about a combined 2.5 million birds, have also seen bird flu outbreaks.
To provide context on the overall size of the U.S. poultry flock, there are more than 378.5 million egg-laying chickens in the United States. In 2023, more than 9.4 billion broiler chickens and 218 million turkeys were processed in the United States, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service .
Despite its name, avian influenza can affect animals beyond birds, including humans and cattle. The virus can also spread via contaminated surfaces or materials, such as manure, egg flats, crates, other farming materials and equipment, and people’s clothing, shoes, or hands.