Bird flu impacting over 600 birds on Butler County farm
As the bird flu spreads across the country, it's hitting residents in western Pennsylvania for the first time in two years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports bird flu is now in Butler County, impacting 610 birds on a backyard farm.
On William Thiele's farm in Cabot, Butler County, the spread of bird flu has crossed his mind, but the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau state board director for the region wasn't too concerned until now.
"We farmers in western Pennsylvania, we keep thinking, 'Oh, that's something happening out in eastern Pennsylvania; that doesn't affect us over here. Well, unfortunately, it does," Thiele said.
Sources told KDKA-TV that the impacted farm is in the southern part of the county in the Cranberry area.
"It's in my own county and that's not far away," Thiele said.
The USDA confirmed the infection on Feb. 20 and classified the farm as World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) non-poultry. Spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Shannon Powers said at that farm, "chickens and other domestic birds and their products, including eggs and feathers, are raised as pets, show birds, or [for] other non-commercial purposes."
Powers also said the farm has no control area, or in other words, a specific perimeter, and additional testing requirements and restrictions for moving poultry since it's a non-commercial farm.
"We will not take animals from out-of-state that could potentially be infected," Thiele said.
Compared to farms with birds, Thiele has less to worry about since he only raises cattle, and they're currently free from infection in the state. However, he's still being cautious.
The outbreak that started in 2022 hasn't affected western Pennsylvania since early 2023 until now. Currently, the USDA reports nearly 2.35 million birds infected in the last 30 days in the state between seven commercial flocks and eight backyard flocks.
So what does this mean for our health?
Chief Medical Officer of Butler Memorial Hospital Dr. Michael Fiorina said he doesn't believe the general public has much to worry about.
"Transmission from bird to human is exceedingly rare. It is not impossible, but exceedingly rare," Dr. Fiorina said.
According to the CDC, during this current outbreak, only 70 people have been infected with bird flu with only one death in the U.S. and none in Pennsylvania. In those cases, the majority involved people who work around birds or cattle that were infected.
Dr. Fiorina recommends these workers take the same precautions as they would to avoid getting sick.
"Don't touch your eyes, don't touch your mouth. If you're working in an area that has the possibility, wear a mask that can help decrease or mitigate the risk of this spread," Dr. Fiorina said.
If you believe your poultry is infected, contact the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture at 717-772-2852 and choose Ext. 1 at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services on-call veterinarians will receive your message and speed up the response to mitigate the virus spread.
If you encounter a sick or dead wild bird, do not touch it; report it to the Pennsylvania Game Commission at 1-833-742-9453.
If you come into contact with sick or dead birds and do not feel well, contact your primary care physician or the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 877-724-3258.
