Industrial farming practices could be boosting the spread of bird flu. Avian influenza has been detected in poultry across the country, including in North Carolina, where 3.3 million birds had to be culled because of the disease at one farm alone in January.

North Carolina among states losing millions of birds to flu in 2025] The bird flu -- also known as the highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI -- spreads quickly through the a

Dare County has confirmed its first case of bird flu, according to the county's department of health and human services. A bird in a backyard flock tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1,