The Poultry Extension Collaborative comprising poultry specialists from Purdue University, VPI, N0rth Carolina State and the University of Maryland have cautioned potential buyers of mail-order chicks to defer orders due postal delays.  Numerous reports of chicks arriving dead in boxes have been documented to poultry extension specialists.

Due to COVID-19, postal delays are occurring with greater frequency exceeding the outer limit of an acceptable post-hatch time of 48 hours before placement.

Who would have imagined that USPS inefficiency would be effective in proventing salmonellosis?

People infected with one of the outbreak strains of Salmonella, by date of illness onset*

*n=938 for whom information was reported as of July 28, 2020. Some illness onset dates have been estimated from other reported information.