The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Outbreak in Poultry, 2022-Present

Avian influenza (i.e., bird flu) is a contagious viral disease of domesticated and wild birds. Depending on the viral strain, the disease can cause little to no signs of illness—referred to as “low pathogenic avian influenza”—to a range of symptoms from serious illness to death—referred to as “highly pathogenic avian influenza” (HPAI). An HPAI outbreak occurred in the United States in 2014-2015 when two HPAI strains infected 211 commercial flocks and 21 backyard flocks in 15 states. The last confirmed case of that outbreak was in a commercial flock in June 2015. HPAI was detected again in wild birds in the United States in January 2022, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) identified an H5N1 strain of HPAI in a wild bird in South Carolina. The present U.S. HPAI outbreak began February 2022 following confirmation of the virus in a commercial turkey operation in Indiana. Cases of HPAI have been confirmed in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Table-egg-laying hen flocks have been the most impacted by the ongoing 2022 outbreak, accounting for 75% of total domestic poultry loss. During each month of 2020-2021, an average of 310 million table-egg-laying hens were in the United States. In 2022-2024, the average number of table-egg-laying hens per month was 296 million, 5% lower than in the two years immediately before the outbreak. As a result, U.S. table egg supplies have been reduced, and consumer retail prices for shell eggs have increased. In March 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the national average retail price for eggs reached a record $6.23 per dozen. USDA APHIS is responsible for protecting and improving animal health in the United States. The Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. §§8301 et seq.) provides APHIS authority to restrict animal movement, destroy animals, and take preventive controls to eradicate diseases that threaten animal and public health. From February 2022 to February 2025, APHIS committed a total of $1.811 billion for HPAI response activities. When the scope of an animal disease outbreak appears to exceed available resources, the agency may seek other available funding sources, such as carryover balances from previous animal disease responses. USDA may also use emergency funding transferred from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). CCC is authorized to fund a broad array of programs and has a permanent indefinite borrowing authority of $30 billion from the U.S. Treasury. On February 26, 2025, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a “plan to lower egg prices.” The plan, described by USDA as its “Five-Pronged Approach to Address Avian Flu,” includes investing in “gold-standard” biosecurity measures, increasing relief to producers to accelerate repopulation, exploring strategies for protecting egg-laying chickens to reduce instances of depopulation, removing “unnecessary regulatory burdens” on the chicken and egg industry, and evaluating temporary import-export options to increase the supply of shell eggs in the domestic market. Several Members of Congress have written to Secretary of Agriculture Rollins regarding USDA’s response to the HPAI outbreak. As Congress continues to monitor the ongoing outbreak of HPAI in domestic poultry flocks, it may consider animal disease prevention and management programs, indemnity payments to producers who suffer HPAI-related losses, vaccination, the available supply of shell eggs, interstate and international trade, and competition-related matters in the poultry sector. Legislation introduced in the 119th Congress seeks to address some of these topics. The Healthy Poultry Assistance and Indemnification Act of 2025 (S. 574, and its companion bill, H.R. 1376) would expand indemnity payments to include compensation for all poultry producers located in an APHIS-determined control area, which consists of both an infected zone and a buffer zone. The Avian Flu Vaccination Strategy Act (S. 908) would require the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the U.S. Trade Representative, to develop and finalize a vaccination strategy for poultry. The Lowering Egg Prices Act of 2025 (H.R. 2222) would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to consult with the Secretary of Agriculture to issue a rule allowing the sale of surplus broiler hatching eggs. The Food Security and Farm Protection Act (S. 1326) would prohibit state and local jurisdictions from imposing certain standards or conditions on “the preharvest production of any agricultural products sold or offered for sale in interstate commerce.” A bill introduced in the 119th Congress (H.R. 2868) would add HPAI as a high-priority research and extension area under which the Secretary of Agriculture may make competitive grants available to land-grant colleges and universities for the purposes of furthering the efficacy of vaccines for poultry and enhancing biosecurity procedures for producers. The Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2025 (S. 1312, H.R. 1380) would establish an Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters within USDA.