The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in five more states across the country after officials warned that the recent outbreaks could see Americans paying more for poultry. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said in a March 30 news release that the cases have been confirmed in a commercial poultry farm in Johnston County, North Carolina, and in noncommercial backyard flocks in Berkshire County, Massachusetts; Kidder County, North Dakota; Franklin County, Ohio; and Johnson County, Wyoming. HPAI, also known as “bird flu,” is a highly contagious viral disease that mainly affects birds, although it has been discovered in other animals such as pigs and dogs in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, as well as domestic cats in Germany, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It spreads easily among birds through nasal and eye secretions, as well as manure, and it can prove deadly in …