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Pennsylvania officials addressed growing concerns about avian flu, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported over 7 million birds have been infected with the highly contagious virus in the state in the past 30 days.
The surge in avian influenza has gripped the nation since being detected in a flock in February 2022. Since then, more than 195 million birds have been affected, according to the USDA. In Pennsylvania alone, roughly 7.4 million birds in 13 commercial flocks have been infected in the past month.
During a press conference Tuesday at the Lancaster County Rapid Response Center, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said additional personnel and expanded testing is being sent out to reduce the risk of spread and deaths within Pennsylvania’s $7.1 billion poultry industry.
“Whether it spreads from here somewhere else or from somewhere else here, that’s why we take this so seriously,” Shapiro said. “We’ve thrown everything we have at it, from resources to time. We’re coordinating at a state, local and federal level. We want to do everything we can to kind of shorten the lifespan of this virus.”
Shapiro discussed coordination between state and federal officials, including a recent meeting with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins at the White House last Friday. He said the USDA has helped by providing 42 employees to assist 55 state personnel, including veterinarians.
“I think they also understand the importance of figuring out how to get a vaccine out there … perhaps as a pilot over the course of the next few months,” Shapiro said. “There’s a lot of complicating factors at the federal level, including trade, and I say this not to be critical in any way of our federal partners, but they’ve got to work through those issues. That’s why it’s not a tomorrow thing. It’s something that, as the secretary said, [could] likely take months.”