Bird flu has been detected in another commercial flock in western Ohio.
The that 1.4 million egg-laying chickens in Mercer County are affected by the virus. This comes weeks after avian influenza was .
Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge says the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza began in 2022.
鈥淲e've considered this to be ongoing, and it's had that roller coaster up and down where we've had some spikes,鈥� Baldridge said. 鈥淯nfortunately, right now, we are kind of at a high-level spike where we've had a number of cases here recently.鈥�
He says the virus is likely being transmitted from birds migrating over western Ohio and Indiana to poultry in those states.
鈥淭hat's our big concern 鈥� when we look at these birds, and we look out our windows, we consider kind of all those birds being infected. We know that's a lot of how this is transmitted,鈥� Baldridge said.
More than 3 million commercial chickens and turkeys in the state are currently impacted by the virus, according to the USDA.
Farmers are controlling the spread by killing infected birds.
Baldridge says that might have effects at the grocery store.
鈥淔rom the consumer side, obviously, as this continues, there could be an uptick in prices,鈥� Baldridge said.
Eggs and chicken are still safe to eat when cooked fully. The of a person contracting bird flu is low.