Nearly 23 million birds have died this year in the U.S., part of a bird flu outbreak that’s the worst since 2015. In that outbreak, more than 50 million birds died. No case has been reported in Oregon, but the avian flu virus was recently found in a bald eagle in British Columbia, which has the poultry industry on high alert. The virus is easily passed from wild to domestic birds, including to or from a small flock of chickens in a backyard, and can be spread by people who don't even keep birds. The Oregon Department of Agriculture is working with the handful of commercial operations on their biosecurity measures, and trying to get the word out to countless smaller producers and the general public. We hear more from Ryan Scholz, the state veterinarian at ODA, who says his job is to “prepare for the worst” but “push for the best.”

ODA and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife each have hotlines to report suspected cases of avian flu. For domestic birds, the number is 800-347-7028. For wild birds it’s 866-968-2600.