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While the outbreak is driving up the price of eggs and chicken nationwide, properly cooked foul is harmless to humans even when it's infected by the flu, agriculture experts say.
The current bird flu outbreak, first reported in a commercial turkey flock in Indiana, is considered the worst since 2015.
In New Jersey, 21 Mallard ducks in Cape May have tested positive for the flu so far, according to USDA findings from February. According to a map provided by the National Wildlife Health Center, no commercial or backyard flocks in New Jersey have been infected.
Other outbreaks in the Northeast have been reported in geese and ducks in Upstate New York; a bald eagle in Chester PA; Sanderling birds on Long Island; ducks in New London, New Haven and Middlesex, CT; Lesser scaup birds in Kent, MD; and geese, ducks and wild birds in Delaware.
Click here for a map of birds that have tested positive.
The 24 states with bird flu outbreaks are Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Click here for more state-by-state details on the avian flu outbreak.
The current outbreak of avian flu is traced to wild birds that showed no signs of illness but likely carried the disease to new areas during migration, the US Agriculture Department said. The federal agency anticipates additional avian influenza outbreaks in more states as it continues wild bird surveillance into the spring.
Sick or dead poultry can be reported to the USDA APHIS Veterinary Services NJ Area Office at 609-259-5260 or toll-free at 1-866-536-7593.
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