What to know about bird flu in Pennsylvania

As more cases of bird flu are reported across species and locations, states across the country are taking precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Hundreds of thousands of people will gather at the Pennsylvania Farm Show beginning later this week — a potential breeding ground for virus transmission, which the state Department of Agriculture has taken extra steps to try to prevent.

Here’s a look at how Pennsylvania and Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration are responding to the bird flu and trying to prevent a widespread outbreak among cattle and humans.

As of Dec. 31, there have been no reported cases of bird flu in cattle or humans in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania has been fighting the avian flu outbreak since 2022. To date, 32 commercial flocks, 39 backyard flocks, and a total of more than 4.7 million birds in Pennsylvania have been affected by the outbreak — mostly in early 2023 — resulting in one of the worst outbreaks of bird flu among commercial flocks across the country.

But Pennsylvania has largely been able to quell the outbreak among poultry since then, spending more than $30 million last year on testing and reimbursement for farmers. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, there have been no cases of bird flu in commercial poultry since February. The last confirmed infection was in October in Venango County, in a backyard flock of 20 birds that did not produce eggs or other products, Department of Agriculture spokesperson Shannon Powers said in an email.

Nationally, farmers have been forced to slaughter more than 100 million chickens and turkeys since 2022 to prevent an outbreak. However, those efforts have largely failed, now that the virus has mutated to infect cows and make it more likely to spread to humans; 875 herds of cattle in 16 states have tested positive for the virus, and more than 60 people have been infected.

Risk to humans remains low in Pennsylvania and nationally. Approximately 34 California residents have been infected since March, and symptoms remain mostly mild — although two individuals in Louisiana and Canada experienced severe symptoms. Most of the documented human cases so far are in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency last month.

Pennsylvania has taken “aggressive precautions to protect Pennsylvania’s dairy and poultry industries,” Powers said. Since November, the state has required milk processors and shippers to collect and test milk samples from bulk milk tank trucks. This is at no cost to dairy farmers.

Poultry continues to be tested on poultry farms and at live bird markets, Powers added.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show — the nation’s largest indoor agricultural exhibition — starts this weekend to celebrate the state’s agricultural industries. The Farm Show, which runs Saturday through Jan. 11 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, usually attracts more than 500,000 people each year — making it a potential hot spot for virus transmission.

But the Department of Agriculture has taken several precautions to prevent the spread: Live bird exhibits are limited to birds headed to slaughter to stop transmission back to farms, and Farm Show attendees won’t be allowed to handle or pet the birds.

Any live animal at the Farm Show must have a veterinary inspection signed by an accredited veterinarian within 30 days of arrival.

Veterinarians also will check animals for physical signs of disease once they arrive at the Farm Show Complex. The animals will be checked again during daily rounds during the weeklong exhibition.

Yes, egg and pasteurized milk supplies from reputable suppliers that follow state food-safety laws remain safe to consume.

Consumers of raw milk are at a greater risk of contracting the bird flu or other viruses, because raw milk has not been heated and cooled to kill active viruses.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are working on a vaccine to protect humans and animals from the H5N1, or avian flu, virus. The vaccine, which is in clinical trials among cattle, uses the same messenger RNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.