About 50.54 million birds in the United States have died as a result of bird flu virus infection this year, the Department of Agriculture data showed on Thursday.

The outbreak is the worst animal health disaster on record in the United States, surpassing the previous record of 50.5 million poultry deaths from bird flu in 2015.

The return of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in 2022 has affected poultry sectors, including commercial flocks of broilers (chickens raised for meat), egg-laying hens, and turkey, according to the department.

The ongoing outbreak of avian influenza subtype H5N8 has been occurring at poultry farms and among wild bird populations in several countries and continents, leading to the subsequent cullings of millions of birds to prevent a pandemic similar to that of the H5N1 outbreak in 2008.

From February to April 2022, avian flu outbreaks in the United States have resulted in the culling of more than 22.8 million birds in 24 states. (ILKHA)