"After a bird flu outbreak tore through Midwestern barns, killing hens and spiking egg prices, the USDA didn’t investigate whether the virus was airborne. ProPublica did. Experts say ProPublica’s analysis offers a plausible explanation for how the wind could have helped spread the virus, exposing a flaw in the USDA’s playbook to fight it."
"Nearly a million chickens packed the barns at Howe’s Hens last Christmas Eve when the first of them tested positive for bird flu. The deadly virus spreads so fast that even if only one hen is infected, farmers are legally obligated to kill all of the others. Massive mounds of carcasses soon appeared outside the Ohio egg farm, covered in compost.
The slaughter wasn’t enough. The virus tore through industrial barns in Darke County and moved on through one of the most poultry-dense regions in America, crossing the state line into Indiana. Rows of raised earth became a familiar sight alongside the roads that crisscrossed the plains. The air stank of death, recalled cafe owner Deborah Mertz: “The smell of every bird in Mercer County, rotting.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture urged farmers to follow a longstanding playbook that assumes that bird flu is spread by wild birds and tracked into barns with lax safety practices. The agency blamed the outbreak on “shared people and equipment.”"
Nat Lash reports for ProPublica with graphics by Chris Alcantara November 18, 2025.
SEE ALSO:
"How ProPublica Investigated a Bird Flu Outbreak in America’s Heartland" (ProPublica)
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