NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. (WANE) — Over 58 million dead birds.

Those are the poultry casualties the CDC has reported due to the newest strain of the bird flu.

It’s a number that is updated each Wednesday, and it’s a number that continues to rise with 386 counties across 47 states reporting outbreaks.

Twelve outbreaks have been reported in Indiana from Elkhart, Allen, Johnson, Greene, Daviess, and Dubois counties.

  • Each infected county in Indiana
  • Elkhart County stats
  • Allen County stats
  • Johnson County stats
  • Greene County stats
  • Daviess County stats
  • Dubois County stats

But one of the state’s largest egg farms has been clean so far, and they thank their security measures.

“The principle is keeping the outside out. Making sure that no diseases, no dirt, no nothing can get the hen,” said Sam Krouse, Co-CEO of MPS eggs in North Manchester.

The measures included are multilayered to prevent infection.

“We’ve taken measures like putting in truck washes in every one of our farms where vehicles are washed and disinfected before they come on the farm, we have locker rooms where all employees change into a uniform that stays on the farm, change into shoes that stay on the farm,” Krouse said.

Those measures were added in 2015 when another bad strain of the bird flu wiped out approximately 7.4 million turkeys and 43 million egg-laying birds and other poultry, according to the CDC.

A new tactic being used is improving the wire that covers the airways into the chicken houses. In the past, it may have allowed a wild bird to sneak in, but recent improvements have addressed the disastrous potential.

“We went around and looked at those and thought ‘gosh’ can even the smallest sparrow get into the houses,” Krouse said. “In places where we thought it could we actually reduced the size of that bird wire to make sure we’re taking every measure we can to make sure the hens are safe.”

With MPS’s facilities locked up like Fort Knox, they hope to keep their hens safe amidst a year that has held great loss for many farmers.

“It’s been a volatile year, it’s been a challenging year, but MPS egg farms is resilient, and we’re going to get through it and keep selling eggs,” Krouse said.

*Statistics were provided by the CDC and are as of Feb. 24, 2023