Bird flu outbreak kills record number of birds in U.S.

Avian flu has killed 50.54 million birds in the United States this year, making it the deadliest outbreak in the nation’s history, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show.

The deaths of chickens, turkeys and other birds were the most serious animal health disaster to date, breaking the previous record in 2015, when 50.5 million birds died during an avian flu outbreak.

Infection often results in bird deaths. Poultry farms cull millions of birds to contain the spread of the disease after one individual tests positive.

Livestock losses have led to record increases in the price of eggs and turkey meat, adding to the economic problems of consumers facing high inflation and driving up the cost of the Thanksgiving holiday table in the United States.