‘We’re doing great;’ Local poultry farm not concerned amid high number of bird flu cases in Ohio

GREENE COUNTY — The USDA says all but three states in the country have been infected with bird flu and Ohio has the second-highest number of cases.

The virus is extremely contagious and once birds contract the flu, the only way to stop the spread is to put them down.

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News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott talked to a local poultry farm in Greene County and who they aren’t concerned.

So far all the birds at Happy Wife Acres are happy and healthy.

“We’re doing great here on the farm,” said owner Andrea Hancock.

Hancock credits her birds’ health to them being pasteurized.

“The chickens get to roam and do whatever they want on our land,” Hancock said.

Hancock says this is not the case on commercial farms.

“They densely packed their facilities,” she said.

The USDA has a commercial farm less than an hour away in Darke County listed as having an active bird flu outbreak.

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“It’s essentially, you know, living in a high-rise apartment. If one gets it, it spreads through because of all the people and the air vents are all circulating through the whole place,” Hancock said.

To stop the spread, an infected flock has to be killed off on those farms, which would be devastating for Hancock.

“It would be an emotional state that would leave me just shattered I love my animals,” Hancock said.

She said if the flu continues to spread how it currently is across Ohio and the rest of the country, we will notice it in prices at the grocery store.

“There will be less eggs in the store and less eggs in the store means more prices higher. Same goes with turkeys. I was surprised anybody got a Thanksgiving turkey this year with the flu that hit the last time,” she said.

In rare cases, the bird flu can spread to people.

The CDC says that typically never happens, but there are a few rare cases and that’s why Hancock says she always washes her hands and arms thoroughly whenever she is done handling her flock.

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