State Sen. Judy Schwank was among the state officials who attended the meeting.<\/p>\n
As chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee, the Wyomissing Democrat said she remains in close communication with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and is staying up to date on the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur poultry industry contributes $7.1 billion to Pennsylvania\u2019s economy and supports thousands of farm families,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen a flock is lost to this virus, it is not just a business setback. It\u2019s personally and financially devastating for the farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n
While there are no known cases in Berks County at this time, state officials said the commonwealth has lost more than 7.6 million birds since the start of this year.<\/p>\n
Poultry is the largest sector of the state\u2019s $132.5 billion agriculture industry, supporting nearly 48,800 farms and almost 600,000 jobs across the state.<\/p>\n
Schwank said she has learned that strict biosecurity is the key to stopping the spread of the avian flu.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommercial producers are taking extraordinary precautions, and backyard poultry hobbyists must play a role as well,\u201d she said. \u201cAnyone with a backyard flock should closely monitor their birds for signs of illness and report suspected cases immediately to the department of agriculture.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"State](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/REG-L-AvianFluRoundtable2.jpg\")
State Sen. Judy Schwank spoke with poultry producers and industry leaders for a roundtable discussion on the ongoing surge in avian flu infections.at the Lancaster County Rapid Response Center Feb. 24. (Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)<\/p>\n
Gov. Josh Shapiro has directed his administration to mobilize additional personnel, expand testing capacity and coordinate closely with the federal government.<\/p>\n
\u201cPennsylvania\u2019s farmers are the backbone of our communities and I know many are worried about the recent rise in cases,\u201d he said during the meeting this week. \u201cMy administration is working around the clock to expand our rapid response efforts and mitigate this surge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania remains the only state in the nation with a dedicated avian flu recovery fund, designed to help poultry producers stabilize and recover from losses. Since 2022, officials said $75 million has been committed to the fund.<\/p>\n
To date, officials said 302 poultry businesses have received $15.6 million in grants to offset losses, sustain operations and strengthen biosecurity protections \u2014 150 of those receiving farms have implemented enhanced disease-prevention improvements.<\/p>\n
![\"Gov.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/REG-L-AvianFluRoundtable1.jpg\")
Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding hosted poultry producers and industry leaders for a roundtable discussion on the ongoing surge in avian flu infections at the Lancaster County Rapid Response Center Feb. 24. (Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)<\/p>\n
While the situation remains serious, Schwank said the avian flu presents a very low risk to the general public. Poultry products remain safe to consume when properly handled and cooked, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made inquiries about egg availability heading into Easter and Passover, and I\u2019m pleased to report that Pennsylvania does not anticipate a shortage,\u201d she said. \u201cFamilies can expect a safe, plentiful and affordable supply of fresh eggs for the holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n
What agricultural producers can do<\/p>\n
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture continues to emphasize the importance of strict adherence to biosecurity plans to combat avian flu and reduce the risk of disease.<\/p>\n
With wild bird migration increasing seasonal risk, the department is urging all poultry producers \u2014 commercial and backyard \u2014 to reinforce preventative measures:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Limit and track farm access.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Require protective clothing and footwear for anyone entering poultry areas.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Clean and disinfect vehicles and equipment.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Prevent contact between domestic flocks and wild birds.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Monitor flock health closely and report unexplained illness or death.<\/p>\n
Producers should report sick birds or unexplained deaths to 717-772-2852. Anyone encountering sick or dead wild birds should contact the Pennsylvania Game Commission at 1-833-PGC-WILD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania is battling one of the most serious avian flu outbreaks in decades, threatening to devastate its multibillion-dollar…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125300,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,182,139,28,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-125299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}