A case of avian influenza was confirmed last week at Long Island’s largest commercial duck farm.
Doug Corwin, the president of the Crescent Duck Farm, founded in 1908, said that teams of both state and federal workers arrived on site to take action on the outbreak case; as a result, the entire duck population at the farm, which consisted of about 99,000 fowls, was culled as a health prevention measure.
Corwin said staff from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services will be present Wednesday at the Aquebogue farm to test the workers, pointing out that none of them have shown signs of illness or disease.
“The hygiene standards here are equivalent to a hospital emergency room,” Corwin said. He added that all those on the quarantined property must wear Tyvek suits, sanitized boots and gloves, and must sanitize themselves both when entering and leaving the farm, which has been in the Corwin family since 1600.
Corwin now wonders if his family business can survive the current crisis. Having already laid off 47 of his 75 employees, his income has plummeted to zero. “My income has completely gone to zero,” he said. “I’m relying on reserves at this point.” He is even considering selling portions of land “just to stay afloat”. “Could this be the end of duck farming on Long Island? I don’t know. It could be,” he admitted. “It’s absolutely devastating”.
According to the USDA, highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as H5N1, is a highly contagious and often fatal respiratory disease in poultry. The virus is widespread among wild birds and has caused outbreaks in poultry and dairy farms across the United States. So far, 67 human cases have been confirmed, mainly among workers handling poultry or dairy cows. Earlier this month, a Louisiana man who had been exposed to sick and dead birds in a backyard flock died from the disease.
At least 950 human cases of avian influenza have occurred globally, with a mortality rate of about 50 percent, according to the World Health Organization.
No human cases have been reported in New York and no infections have been detected in dairy cows in the state. Avian influenza was previously identified in Suffolk County in 2022, 2023 and 2024, affecting backyard flocks, commercial farms and wild birds. Nationwide, more than 136 million birds have been affected by the disease since January 2022.
Corwin hopes to save his business by getting a special state permit to restart the flock from 10,000 quarantined eggs, though reviving the unique genetics of his ducks will be challenging. He also recalled that Crescent Duck Farm faced a similar crisis during the COVID-19 outbreak, with layoffs and a sharp decline in business, but emphasized that “this is different.” “This is sadder than COVID,” he said.
While bird flu is highly contagious among poultry, he pointed out that it doesn’t spread to humans and is “a very easy virus to kill”.
