Bird flu costs pile up as outbreak enters second year

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The ongoing bird flu outbreak has cost the government roughly $661 million and added to consumers’ pain at the grocery store as officials slaughtered more than 58 million birds to help limit the spread of the virus. The farmers who raise chickens and turkeys have also easily lost more than $1 billion but no one has calculated the total cost to the industry yet. The bad news is that with the outbreak entering its second year and the spring migratory season looming, there is no end in sight. And farmers may not be able to do much more than they are already doing to keep the virus off their farms.