(KERO) — Avian Flu is hitting farms hard, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimating nearly 58 million commercial and backyard birds affected in the past year across the country.
One example of the virus' impact is in Washington. Chelsea Carrigan, the owner of Red Barn Farm in Redmond, Washington, has been taking on the flu since May 2022, when the Avian Flu was first detected in the state.
"One wild bird coming into their chicken run and the next thing you know 10 birds, 20 birds, 30 birds. They're just dropping dead," explained Carrigan.
Carrigan says that the Red Barn Farm had to shut down agritourism in fear of the flu coming to her farm, as well as covering their chicken runs as much as possible so wild birds wouldn't come in.
Washington state wildlife officials say as of mid-December, there were more than 90 confirmed positive cases of Avian Flu across the state.
