Bird flu is hitting Pennsylvania harder than any other state. Here’s what to know

An aggressive strain of avian flu capable of wiping out entire flocks of domestic birds is sweeping through the United States — and as of this week, Pennsylvania has more cases than any other state in the country, data from the Department of Agriculture show.

In the last 30 days, more than 215,000 birds in Pennsylvania have been affected by avian flu — meaning they live on farms or in backyards where the disease has been confirmed. Most avian flu viruses are mild, but the strain affecting birds in the state and across the country is “highly pathogenic,” the USDA says, causing serious disease and high death rates among birds.

Though the virus has been found in some mammals, such as mink, the risk to humans is currently low, health officials say. Only a handful of people have been infected with avian flu worldwide since last year, federal health officials say. But avian flu cases have tightened the supply of poultry and eggs, contributing to rising prices.

Here’s what you need to know about avian flu in the state and what you can do to help prevent it from spreading:

Avian flu spreads through wild birds, especially waterfowl. Wild birds generally show no signs of the virus even when they’re infected, and their spring migration passes through Pennsylvania, said Mike Stepien, a spokesperson for the federal Agriculture Department.

Since highly pathogenic avian flu cases began spreading in the country last year, Pennsylvania has seen about 4 million birds affected, the fourth-highest among all states. In the last month, though, Pennsylvania has seen more birds affected than anywhere else in the country.

“It only takes a blob of manure about the size of a dime to infect a flock.”

Lancaster has been hit particularly hard in the latest outbreak. Flocks in Bucks and Chester Counties have also reported outbreaks.

“The affected area in Pennsylvania is densely populated with poultry farms,” Stepien said. “There is also lush farmland that attracts various types of wild and migratory birds to the area.”

The virus can spread through migratory birds interacting directly with domestic birds, as well as through droppings left by infected birds as they fly over farms and backyards.

“It only takes a blob of manure about the size of a dime to infect a flock,” said Gregory Martin, a poultry educator at Penn State Extension, the university’s public education arm.

Unfortunately, Martin says, many infected flocks are euthanized: “The mortality gets to be so high that it’s the humane thing to do,” he said. Domestic birds who contract the respiratory disease get congested and face high rates of death.

Once the infected birds have been removed from the farm, workers clean and disinfect their facilities — an expensive, laborious, and time-intensive process. The Agriculture Department tests to confirm the virus has been eliminated before allowing farmers to restock their flocks.

“One of the biggest difficulties is the fact that resources are stretched so thin, not just on the farms but also within the community that responds to these outbreaks, the people who have to go out and deal with these incidents,” said Grant Goulibon, a regulatory affairs specialist with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.

The USDA can reimburse farmers for euthanized birds and cleaning expenses. Still, this often doesn’t cover the full costs of an avian flu outbreak — for instance, lost profit from potential egg and poultry sales — Martin said, and the flu can be a significant financial setback for farmers. This flu outbreak is part of the reason egg prices are so high, though inflation and high fuel prices have also contributed to those rising costs, he said.

The state Agriculture Department recommends that anyone who comes into contact with live poultry wash their hands with soap and water before and after contact. Hand sanitizers “will not penetrate organic matter or caked-on dirt,” state officials wrote in a January news release.

Wear disposable boot covers or clean boots before interacting with birds. You can also wash boots in a foot bath for additional protection, but be sure to scrub any debris off the boots before stepping in. Visitors and workers should also change outer garments before going into an area with poultry and before leaving a property.

Disinfect tools and equipment before they’re sent to another poultry farm, and report sick birds to a vet and the Agriculture Department as soon as possible.

The New York Times reported that the USDA is testing poultry vaccines for avian flu but that a number of factors, including production times and trade considerations around poultry exports, complicate discussions about vaccinating birds en masse. However, infectious-disease experts have been calling on the Biden administration to vaccinate poultry as a line of defense against a potential human pandemic.

“From vaccine development to production timelines, to dissemination to flocks, there are many factors that make implementing a vaccine strategy a challenge, and it would take time to deliver an effective vaccine,” Stepien said.

“Make sure you need to be there in the first place,” Goulibon said. “If there’s business you could do with a farmer without going onto the farm premises, do that.”

People should avoid visiting wild flocks of birds or feeding them. Feeding wild ducks bread, for example, can deter them from migration and could keep them in Pennsylvania longer, Martin said.

If you do visit a wildlife refuge, remove your shoes before getting back into their car, store them in a garbage bag, and wash and disinfect them once home, he said.

“A lot of people are out at the wildlife areas watching the geese migrate. It’s unique to watch 30,000 snow geese flying off the pond in the morning,” Martin said. “But they always leave something behind.”