It’s about that time again to start preparing for this Thanksgiving holiday. However, the main entré may be a little more difficult to purchase this year than in years past. A recent outbreak of Avian Influenza, better known as bird flu, has caused the death of more than millions of turkeys in the United States.

    Maggie Walker is the manager of a convenience store located in Union County where she sells turkey sandwiches and also turkey meat by the pound. When the outbreak began in April 2015, she was forced to throw away all the turkey she had in her store and cancel all orders for incoming turkey. “I did have to switch my deli provider from Armor Eckrich to Gordon Food Services,” says Walker. Since the outbreak, Walker has returned to her normal provider.

     There is not a suspected shortage of turkeys this Thanksgiving, but however an increase in the price of the beloved bird. Corinne Alexander, an agricultural economist at Purdue University, told ABC news that she expects turkey prices to be 15% to 20% higher than last year. It will cost about $1.60 per pound this year compared to last year’s price of $1.36.

    When one bird in the flock is showing symptoms of bird flu the entire flock must be terminated. Usually this is done by using a suffocating foam. The disease can be obtained by humans, but it is almost harmless. Symptoms would be anything from the common cold to the flu. There have not been any confirmed cases of bird flu in a human this year.