As states across the nation grapple with a highly contagious strain of bird flu infecting livestock and commercial poultry facilities, Nevada has thus far remained largely safe from infection, according to state officials.

Bird flu is a highly contagious virus that can lead to illness in livestock and death in poultry.  

There are two strains of the virus — one affecting wild birds and another affecting livestock and domestic birds.

Earlier this month, the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) confirmed the state’s first case of bird flu at a dairy operating in remote Nye County.

In 2022, the NDA confirmed the state’s first case of the virus in a backyard flock of chickens in Carson City. There are no commercial egg producers in the state. 

The strain affecting wild bird populations has been found in geese and ducks in Reno and birds of prey and waterfowl in western Nevada.

The virus can spread multiple ways, including through contact between birds, contact between humans and birds, contact between livestock and through contaminated feed, manure and bird droppings. Occasionally it spreads to humans, leading to mild respiratory symptoms and pink eye, although the risk to people is low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It most often sickens those who work with poultry and livestock.

The rampant spread of the virus has led to increasing commercial egg prices, a declaration of emergency in a neighboring state and extra safety precautions in Nevada.

Near-record high egg prices

The virus has led to near record-high egg prices as commercial producers struggle to meet demand for eggs with decreasing flocks.

The virus can have very high mortality rates in birds — as high as 95 percent in domestic chickens. More than 6 million birds were slaughtered in November because of the bird flu, The Associated Press reported.

At the end of 2022, there were 308 million commercial laying hens, down 4.5 percent from the year prior. Conversely, egg consumption in the nation has increased nearly 5 percent since 2000 and, as commercial producers battle deaths from bird flu, they are also adapting to changing consumer demands and law changes that unintentionally can increase infections. 

In 2021, Nevada became the ninth state to ban the sale of eggs that come from hens in cages, as well as the keeping of egg-laying hens in cages in the state.

The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Howard Watts (D-Las Vegas), requires all eggs sold in the state come from cage-free facilities. Nevada sources its eggs from other states, many of which also have cage-free laws, including California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado. The nation’s top 10 egg-producing states, producing two-thirds of the nation’s eggs, are all east of the Rockies.

Hens raised in cage-free facilities can interact in ways they wouldn’t if they were isolated in cages, potentially allowing the virus to spread more easily, the AP reported. And, with more Western states requiring cage-free eggs, demand is limiting supply and raising costs.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of a dozen grade A large eggs in November was $3.65, up from $2.14 a year ago.  Prices have fluctuated throughout the years, reaching record highs of around $5 a dozen in late 2022 and early 2023 as avian flu decimated commercial poultry populations. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), more than 43 million egg-laying hens died from avian flu during that time, and egg inventories were down nearly a third.

Some states have suspended their cage-free requirements during the outbreak of the virus; Nevada cannot, said J.J. Goicoechea, director of the NDA, because the cage-free requirement is written into state law.

“We are looking at a legislative fix” to see if a variance can be granted to suspend the law during extreme egg shortages, he told The Nevada Independent.

California’s response and Nevada’s precautions

Just days ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as the state battles the spread of the virus.  

Since March there have been 61 confirmed cases of bird flu infections in humans across seven states; more than half of those (34) were in California, primarily among poultry and dairy workers in Tulare County, the nation’s largest milk producer. The virus has also shown up in at least 17 of the state’s wastewater systems.

Nevada isn’t likely to see the same effects as California because of its more remote nature, Goicoechea said. The outbreak at the dairy in Nye County was at an isolated facility, he said, and has been contained thus far. 

“We’re very comfortable with our response [that] we will be able to keep it there,” he told The Nevada Independent. The contaminated herd is under quarantine until it tests negative for three weeks.

Pasteurized milk will not transmit the virus to humans, according to the USDA, and selling raw milk is illegal in Nevada. Dairy and meat products remain safe for consumption.  

If the virus does reach Northern Nevada, it could spread more quickly because of the proximity of production facilities, Goicoechea said.

“My goal is to snuff this out and prevent it from getting to Northern Nevada,” he said.