The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced February 26 a $1 billion strategy to mitigate highly pathogenic avian influenza type A H5N1 by assisting the poultry industry with the hopes of lowering egg prices.
The new funding is in addition to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Veterinary Services (VS) preventive efforts as well as indemnity payments already provided to producers who have had to cull their flocks due to HPAI infection.
Since the start of the outbreak in February 2022, 166.16 million birds have been affected . Of those confirmed cases, 764 flocks have been commercial and 841 flocks have been backyard.
Notably, commercial and backyard poultry farmers culled 41.4 million birds this past December and January because of influenza exposure—three times more than the same period last year—making the past two months the most lethal in this current outbreak.
Enhancing biosecurity
As the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins outlined in the Wall Street Journal , the five-pronged strategy involves the following:
- $500 million for additional biosecurity measures
- $400 million in financial relief for affected farmers
- $100 million for vaccine research
- Reducing regulatory burdens
- Exploring temporary import options
Specifically, APHIS will deploy 20 epidemiologists to conduct increased biosecurity audits and wildlife biosecurity assessments. They will begin with egg-layer facilities “to provide actionable and timely advice to producers on how to reduce H5N1 risk at their facilities. These experts will help improve current biosecurity measures to focus on protecting against spread through wild birds in addition to lateral spread,” according to the announcement.
The USDA will shoulder up to 75% of the costs to address the highest risk biosecurity concerns identified by the assessments and audits.
While free biosecurity audits will continue for all H5N1-affected commercial poultry farms, deficiencies must be addressed to remain eligible for indemnity payments should another outbreak occur on the premises, according to the announcement.
This follows similar guidance from a proposed rule published December 31, 2024, that would require commercial poultry farms to successfully pass a biosecurity audit prior to restocking if they were previously HPAI-infected and want to remain eligible for indemnity payments for the restocked poultry.
Biosecurity audits will also be encouraged and made available to surrounding, unaffected farms, though, it’s not clear if the USDA will contribute to the costs for those audits.
As of November 2024, the costs associated with the ongoing H5N1 outbreak have been more than $1.4 billion, including $1.25 billion in indemnity and compensation payments. Of this, APHIS has spent approximately $227 million on indemnity payments to farms that have been infected multiple times with H5N1.
A total of 67 commercial poultry farms have been infected at least twice with H5N1 during the current outbreak, including 19 farms that have been infected three or more times, according to USDA information.
Meanwhile, the USDA secretary says new programs are being explored to aid poultry farmers to accelerate the rate of repopulation, including ways of simplifying the approval process to speed recovery. Up to $400 million will be available to support these costs for the remainder of the federal fiscal year, which goes until the end of September.
Vaccination and other strategies
At the same time, the agency says it will look to new vaccines, therapeutics, and other solutions to minimize depopulation of egg-laying chickens.
“Importantly, USDA will work with trading partners to limit impacts to export trade markets from potential vaccination. Additionally, USDA will work alongside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ensure the public health and safety of any such approaches include considerations of tradeoffs between public health and infectious disease strategy,” the announcement states.
USDA staff members will solicit public input on solutions, and will involve governors, state agriculture departments, state veterinarians, and poultry and dairy farmers on vaccine and therapeutics strategy, logistics, and surveillance.
Other strategies outlined by the agency include exploring options for temporarily increasing egg imports and decreasing exports to supplement the domestic supply, subject to safety reviews; work with Food and Drug Administration and other agencies to examine strategies to safely expand supply in the commercial market for eggs; and work with farmers and scientists to develop innovative strategies to limit depopulation in H5N1 outbreaks.
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