Heating System for Inactivating Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Eggs
Problem statement
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as the avian flu, is ever present in today’s agricultural infrastructure. With over 100,000,000 cases of the avian flu detected in birds in the U.S. since 2016 [1], and no commercially available vaccine [2], the steps farms and farmers take to combat its spread when there is an inevitable outbreak are critical to the health and safety of both farm workers, consumers, and the surrounding wildlife. Additionally to shutting down farms and putting workers out of jobs until operations restart, outbreaks can cause HPAI to spread into local ecosystems infecting birds and other wildlife. This creates fear and distress among the people living near outbreaks, causing them to avoid outdoor spaces like parks and nature preserves. While the euthanization of all birds in an HPAI-affected facility is inevitable, current practices for the disposal of animal products infected with HPAI are ineffective. Bird eggs, for example, are incinerated or sent to landfills after an outbreak. Incineration, while time-effective, can further spread the virus through smoke and ash. Landfill burial is the most effective method currently employed, but it forces farms to shell out large amounts of capital to landfill owners as insurance for the risk they are incurring and unnecessarily discards countless eggs that could be used for compost if the HPAI is inactivated. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) needs a solution to remove HPAI from mass amounts of chicken eggs on a farm because it is a health risk to communities and halts the efficiency of the farms. Our mission is to provide farms with an efficient and timely means of inactivating eggs once HPAI has been detected in the facility. To design an effective product that can meet the many needs of these facilities, it is of the utmost importance to learn the perspective of the workers, operators, engineers, and governing agencies who deal with the outbreak firsthand. Effective communication with all of these parties will allow us to better understand the poultry industry and HPAI as a whole and direct towards developing the best and most practical solution possible. [1] Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). H5N1 Bird Flu Detections across the United States (Backyard and Commercial). Cdc. https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/data-map-commercial.html [2]Cran, B. (2024). The Avian Flu. In Public Poetics. https://doi.org/10.51644/9781771120487-022 [3]Jenner, R., Scott, A., Sexton, M., Mossop, W., & Wilinson, K. (2020). Mass disposal preparedness for the poultry industries. In AgriFutures Australia Publication (Issues 20–048).
Team members 
Jakson Amend – facilitator
Jonathan Soliva – communicator
Sam Solomon – accountant
Liam Mandli – admin
Client
Michael Cheadle