Bird flu has been making its rounds in the news the last few weeks, and it's getting closer to home. On Friday, February 7th, live poultry markets in New York City and parts of the NYC suburbs were ordered to shut down for a week, sparking some rising concerns. This was after seven birds were found infected with the H5N1 strain of Avian Flu, also known as the Bird Flu, during a routine inspection of live markets in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens boroughs. Now, as of Wednesday, February 12th, three Monmouth County parks have been shut down out of caution after 25 geese were found dead, with officials testing for a possible bird flu outbreak. Read on for the latest updates on bird flu locally and what it potentially means for New Jersey residents.

Updates as of February 13th, 2025

Three separate Monmouth County parks were shut down this week after dozens of geese were found dead. Per ABC7NY, Allentown officials are awaiting test results to determine if there is a bird flu outbreak. The geese were found at Sensi Park, Heritage Park and Dr. Farmer's Park in Allentown. Allentown officials said that if you do see a dead bird, do not touch it, but call officials at Borough Hall and let them know about the bird so it can be removed.

This post will be updated with any further details.

The Bird Flu Outbreak in NYC

After a routine inspection of live poultry markets in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens areas on Friday, February 7th, seven birds were detected with the H5N1 strain of Avian Flu, "a viral disease of poultry...causing severe disease and significant death loss," according to an email from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. This led to the temporary closure of all live poultry markets in New York City and Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties. These closures will remain in effect until February 14th, 2025.

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During an online public health briefing, New York Governor Kathy Hochul told residents that "for a week-long period, no poultry can be delivered to those live bird markets. Each uninfected market must sell down all inventory, undergo thorough cleaning and disinfection, and then remain closed for at least five days. Each must then be inspected by our State Ag and Markets before they can reopen."

Governor Kathy Hochul assured her viewers that "people should not be concerned," as there is no "immediate public health threat."

While posing a risk to those in contact with poultry birds, cows, and other animals, the CDC has stated that the risk of Bird Flu on the general public is low.

Since its first detection in dairy cows in March 2024, there have been 67 confirmed cases of the Avian Flu in humans, with the first death being reported in February in Louisiana. This was a 65-year-old individual who'd been in contact with sick and dead backyard livestock. Note that no human cases have been found in New Jersey or New York.

The order is “just simply measured common-sense steps that will curb the spread of bird flu and ultimately," Governor Kathy Hochul said. "Safeguarding public health is all about being proactive and especially when it comes to fighting infectious diseases.”

The written transcription of the public health briefing can be found here.

New Jersey's Response to the Bird Flu

In response to the NYC live market closure, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture shared in a direct email with The Hoboken Girl that, in 2024 and thus far, "there have been no Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza cases in poultry, including within live bird markets or backyard flocks in New Jersey." They went on to say that the public can be assured that the Division of Animal Health regularly tests live bird markets and backyard flocks for the Bird Flu.

The Department has asked live bird markets in New Jersey to do a "voluntary cleaning and disinfection of their market and equipment" and to wait a prescribed amount of time before restocking. Distributors of live bird markets have also been advised to clean and disinfect their facilities. Follow-up testing at New Jersey markets and their distributors will take place after its cleaning.

"We will continue to monitor HPAI cases in poultry, wild birds, and livestock in our surrounding areas and around the country," the Department shared with The Hoboken Girl.

Are There Any Active Outbreaks in New Jersey?

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has yet to release a statement regarding the recent matter in NYC. The latest statement was on January 17th, when he notified the public that state agencies are continuing to monitor occurrences of Bird Flu in domestic and wild New Jersey birds.

"While there have been recent confirmations of deaths in localized wild bird populations in parts of New Jersey, there have been no recent reports in domestic poultry or cattle and no human infections in the state," the statement reads. The deaths mentioned refer to a detection of the virus in wild birds, "predominantly snow geese and Canada geese," in areas throughout the Garden State beginning in December 2024. As per a CDC report, the latest detections of Bird Flu were found in four Snow Geese in Warren County on January 22nd.

There may not be recent detections of the virus in New Jersey livestock, but, as of February 3rd, the H5 strain of the Avian Flu has been detected in our wastewater. This follows a spike in positive samples from the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, which showed its first detection on January 6th. As per NorthJersey.com, it is unknown where the virus came from. To keep track of further detected samples, see this link.

Residents should know that if they encounter sick or dead wild birds, they should report all findings to the Department of Environmental Protection, which can be reached at 877-927-6337.

What Does This Mean for Poultry Products in New Jersey?

Over the past few months, poultry prices have been on the rise while becoming harder to find in local supermarkets. After today's news, neighbors across the Hudson and Hoboken and Jersey City locals can expect these items to be even more scarce.

Food economist and Michigan State University Professor David Ortega told ABC News that when a bird is infected with the Avian Flu, that bird along with its entire flock must be de-populated or culled to stop the virus from further spreading.

"When a flock that used to lay eggs is culled, it can take time to get a new flock to start laying eggs again." Similarly, when a flock is de-populated, "it takes a significant amount of time...to sort of rebuild that flock and for those layers to become productive again."

With New York City and its surrounding boroughs being in such close proximity and the virus being already present in New Jersey, Garden State residents can expect the procedures surrounding Bird Flu to impact the already high costs of poultry items, including eggs.

"Because of the impacts that the bird flu has on the industry and just the way that the supply chains for these products are built, there might be stockouts in certain regions across the country," David Ortega told ABC News.

Using TradingEconomics.com, New Jersey 101.5 tracked the rise in egg prices across several New Jersey supermarkets. At the beginning of December 2024, the average price for a dozen eggs was $3.93 but rose to $5.81 in January. The current average was $7.09 as of February 7th.

According to an egg market report released by USDA on February 7th, egg prices will continue to rise. "Offerings remain very light with little chance for improvement in the near term," the report reads. "Shell egg availability remains limited and inconsistent in many retail markets.”

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