PA's Bird Flu Crisis Addressed By Gov. Shapiro As Infected Flocks Grow

HARRISBURG, PA — Bird flu and its ongoing impacts in Pennsylvania were acknowledged as a grave threat by Pennsylvania leaders this week, as the number of cases continues to grow and the state remains the hardest hit in the nation.

Gov. Josh Shapiro addressed the issue twice this week, including Tuesday at the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau's 2023 Legislative Conference.

"High path avian influenza is one of the largest public health emergencies in American history," Shapiro told an audience of agriculture leaders, state lawmakers, and other stakeholders.

Shapiro touted the existing $25 million in funding for farmers statewide who lose birds to the flu, which was established under Gov. Tom Wolf. His own budget includes another $25 million for future losses, and $6 million to help with bird flu testing.

He also pointed to the 170 workers designated by the Department of Agriculture to work with farmers on mitigation and prevention strategies.

"This is a serious, serious risk to our agricultural industry and people's livelihoods," Shapiro added. "And it contributes to rising consumer costs, and it even impacts our biomedical research across Pennsylvania."

Shapiro noted that the first case of bird flu arrived this year in January, four months earlier than in 2022, indicating a troubling trend. Pennsylvania already seen hundreds of thousands of birds killed due to avian influenza since the start of the year, and 4.6 million since the first outbreak in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some 120,000 were killed in March alone.

All of those figures far outstrip the rest of the nation.

It's the second time the governor took the public stage in the past week with bird flu front and center, after holding a press conference with farmers and Republican State Sen. Scott Martin (R-Lancaster) last week.

The common wisdom runs that the risk is low for humans to catch the disease. But the World Health Organization (WHO) urged caution and preparatory steps during a February summit.

"We cannot assume that will remain the case and we must prepare for any change in the status quo," Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director General said during a press briefing.
Bird flu does impact other species. It's been detected with some regularity this year in mammals like otters, skunks, and mountain lions. And the New York Times reported this week that there's an outbreak among seals in New England.

And Dr. Meghan Schaeffer, a national public health advisor and epidemiologist with SAS, said that bird flu represents the greatest threat for the next pandemic.

Another factor fueling bird flu in Pennsylvania and nationwide is the changing climate. Climate impacts migration patterns for all species, including birds. This year is the warmest winter on record, and birds that normally would not be moving around this time of year suddenly think it's time to fly north.

This impacts the availability of breeding sites — sites which in many cases are already limited by overdevelopment and other human impacts — which can cause overcrowding and higher than usual interaction between domestic birds and migratory birds. This fuels the spread of the disease, according to recent research published in the Journal of Climate Change and Health.

The highly contagious and fatal disease hits domestic poultry the hardest. Impacted species include chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, quail, pheasants, emus and ostriches. Wild species also can pick up the flu, as the flu was first detected in the state in a wild bald eagle in East Marlborough, Chester County, in March 2022.

Mass euthanasia is the typical first response of state responders. Agriculture officials continue to urge farmers to install enhanced biosecurity measures to protect their flocks.

Gov. Shapiro's full proposed budget is online here.