SHORELINE, Wash. — Bird flu is spreading among dairy cows in California. So far, more than 186 dairies have been affected.
With a string of cases now popping up in Washington, we wanted to find out if there’s been an impact at the grocery store.
Earlier this year, bird flu caused a spike in egg prices, and currently, there are concerns in California that the illness could lead to a similar spike in milk prices.
Over the last few weeks in Washington, we have seen a few cases of the virus, including in humans, but no cows have been impacted.
Prices inside warehouse stores such as Costco are somewhat normal, around $3+ for a gallon of milk. But those prices are still up from last year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
But we wanted to know exactly what happens if products test positive for any strain of bird flu.
The USDA told us that first, the flock the virus came from would be euthanized.
The next thing would be to draw a 10-kilometer perimeter around the area where the virus was detected, and if any farm sells any dairy or egg products, the products must test negative before they are sent to stores.
“Again, we do that to make sure that none of the products that make it into the market are affected. But that also takes maybe a little bit more time than it would to just ship the products out without having to test them,” said Amber Betts with the USDA.
The recent cases in Washington state have occurred in Kitsap, Lewis, and Mason counties. Those cases were small and the farms with the flocks where the cases occurred aren’t selling any products in stores.
State officials said as an extra precaution, they’re contacting dairy farms to look at their milk products before they ship them out.