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WASHINGTON – New outbreaks of bird flu have been reported in a commercial chicken flock in Pennsylvania and in a backyard flock in Utah, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Saturday, with the outbreak spreading to more than 30 states. The department said earlier this month it was considering vaccines as an option to protect poultry from deadly bird flu as the country faces its worst outbreak since 2015. The current epidemic has wiped out more than 20 million chickens and turkeys in commercial flocks. from February. “Samples from the Pennsylvania herd were tested at the Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory and samples from the Utah herd at the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, both part of the National Network of Animal Health Laboratories,” the USDA said in a statement. Federal and state officials were working together for additional surveillance and testing in areas around the affected flocks, the USDA said. Recent cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza are not an immediate public health concern, US authorities have said. Previously, the United States avoided vaccines, worrying that importers would ban poultry shipments to the United States because they could not distinguish between infected birds and vaccinated ones. The United States is the second largest exporter of poultry meat in the world. In 2020, the value of US poultry and poultry exports to the world reached $ 4.2 billion. Avian influenza has affected poultry in Europe and Asia as well as North America, and the USDA is working with other countries on vaccine options. Trade has suffered as importers such as China have blocked imports from many US states with cases. ×
