HARRISBURG – The PA Department of Agriculture confirmed the first positive case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza this year in a 50,000-bird layer chicken flock on a commercial poultry farm in Lehigh County. A state and federal inter-agency task force is on the farm carrying out a comprehensive response plan to help keep the virus from spreading. The Department has quarantined the farm and all commercial poultry facilities, restricting the movement of poultry products within a 10-kilometer radius of the infected flock. While there is no risk to the public, and poultry products and eggs are safe to eat if cooked properly, the avian flu is highly infectious and is generally fatal to domestic birds. No infections in dairy cattle or humans have been detected in PA to date. The response plan includes education and public outreach, as well as minimizing risk though strict biosecurity measures and continued surveillance, testing, and farm management.
