High Ranking Government Offices Continue Following the Recent Outbreak of Bird Flu

By Kayla Weeast

The Center for Disease Control is currently working with federal, state, and also local partners in an effort to stop the ongoing outbreak of the bird flu, also known as H5N1, that started in late March. The outbreak was first detected in dairy cows but can be spread to other animals and even humans. 

Students and faculty at Pen Argyl High School are concerned about the outbreak and have concerns about the bird flu in general.

Olivia Apostol, senior, said, “It is possible that my chickens get the bird flu, but they normally stay in their coop so I am not too concerned about my chickens getting it.” 

Meghan Kutzler, special education teacher, said, “When learning about the bird flu I did get nervous about them becoming sick or transferring the disease. After I read more about it I realized that the chickens would have to ingest droppings from a contaminated bird. My chickens have a large coop and pen that is partially covered.” 

Due to these concerns they are taking action to try and prevent the bird flu getting to their animals. 

Apostol said, “To prevent the spread we keep the chickens in their coop to make sure that the bird flu can’t be spread to them.” 

Not only are they worried about their chickens contracting the bird flu but they also have other animals that could contract it.

Apostol, said, “If my chickens were to get the bird flu I would be concerned about my dogs also contracting it because my dogs love the chickens.”

Kutzler, said, “I currently have fifteen chickens and three dogs. We started with six chickens in 2020 and somehow got nine more chickens.”

The outbreak is also affecting the cost of eggs for consumers.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the bird flu has had a significant enough of an impact on the chicken population to increase egg prices by as much as 20% so far in 2025.