Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N9 has been identified in U.S. poultry for the first time, after outbreak at a commercial duck farm in California.

As egg prices continue to soar across the country, there are new concerns about bird flu as a new strain was discovered at a duck farm.

Both H5N9 and H5N1 were detected at the duck farm in Merced County, according to tests conducted by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory. The event began on November 23, with clinical signs that included increased deaths in the ducks.

David J. Cennimo, an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, spoke to Rutgers Today about what people should know about the disease and its likely course going forward.

U.S. authorities also detected the more common H5N1 strain on the same farm in Merced County, California, they said in a report to Paris-based WOAH, adding that the almost 119,000 birds on the

Scientists are concerned that bird flu may eventually mutate so that it can readily spread among people – something it cannot currently do. This is because birds and humans have very different molecules along their respiratory tract and bird flu currently struggles to bind strongly to the human respiratory system.

The United States has reported its first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu in poultry on a duck farm in California, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Monday.