A flock of about 240,000 chickens owned by Tyson Foods Inc in Kentucky tested positive for a highly lethal form of bird flu, government officials and the company said on Monday, widening an outbreak that threatens the U.S. poultry industry.
Highlights
- A flock of about 240,000 chickens owned by Tyson Foods Inc in Kentucky tested positive for a highly lethal form of bird flu.
- It is Kentucky’s first outbreak of the highly lethal bird flu, which killed more than 50 million U.S.
- chickens and turkeys in 2015.
- The disease is hitting the market as poultry supplies are down due to strong demand and labor shortages at meat plants during to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The United States is the world’s largest producer and second-largest exporter of poultry meat, according to the government.
- The outbreak is not expected to lower overall chicken production levels because thousands of farms raise chickens for Tyson.