![Bird flu kills birds on fourth farm in Lancaster County: USDA [update] | Local news](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/lancasteronline.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/9b/79b877e0-bf4f-11ec-b21d-e7bfc7a212df/625dbeccae5d7.image.jpg?crop=1716,901,0,153&resize=1200,630&order=crop,resize "Bird flu kills birds on fourth farm in Lancaster County: USDA [update] | Local news")
Update: According to the USDA, a fourth farm in Lancaster County was infected with a contagious strain of bird flu, this time killing 50,300 birds as a result of the virus or related depopulation.
The virus currently affects 3,500,400 birds in Lancaster County, the only county in Pennsylvania that has reported cases of the virus.
USDA officials did not identify the municipality or exact location of the fourth farm affected by the outbreak. However, they said the site is a commercial broiler production business.
The outbreak of highly contagious bird flu has infected Pennsylvania’s No. 4 poultry farm, euthanized birds in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease, and has already lost 3.4 million birds in the state.
The fourth outbreak in Pennsylvania was announced on Saturday. Report from Pennsylvania Office for Emergency Management staffThose who did not specify the location or size of the farm.
As of Monday morning, US and Pennsylvania Ministry of Agriculture officials had not released details of Farm 4.
The first three outbreaks in Pennsylvania have all occurred on farms in Lancaster County since mid-April. At least two of the affected farms were in East Donegal Township, state officials said last week.
Each bird on those farms was depopulated. Depopulation is a term used to describe the rapid euthanasia of birds in a herd in order to delay the spread of the disease to another herd.
All three herds of infected Lancaster County consisted of chickens in the egg layer. And it is said that 3,450,100 people died as a result of the virus or depopulation.
In the first case at the Kreider Farms property in East Danegor Township, 1,443,000 birds died.
The next two resulted in the deaths of 879,400 and 1,127,700 birds.
The PEMA report does not list the number of birds affected on Farm 4, but states that “Farm 4 has depopulated and is currently composting.” increase.
According to Paul Patterson, an emeritus professor of poultry science, there are several approved methods of depopulation, the most common of which is to send carbon dioxide gas into the poultry house or to place the bird on the floor. By spraying fire extinguishing foam on top, you will choke the animal. At Penn State University.
He said last week that composting is one of the better options for disposal, explaining the process of layering organic materials such as carcasses and wood shavings to produce controlled degradation.
Bird flu spreads most commonly when healthy birds come into contact with the body fluids of infected birds, state officials said. Therefore, in a small area such as a farm, one virus-positive bird may be infected with more birds. This means that you usually need to wipe out the entire herd to prevent further spread.
Current strains, considered “highly pathogenic” due to their infectivity and lethality in poultry, have been circulating between wild birds and livestock since December.
Since then, according to USDA, birds have been infected in at least 229 domesticated backyards or commercial herds in 29 states. Approximately 31.36 million livestock are affected nationwide.
According to experts, both domesticated and wild birds can become sick and infested, and are believed to have been transmitted to the United States via infected waterfowl migrating from Europe.
Farmers are required to strengthen protection measures called biosecurity on their farms to protect their herds.
In rare cases, humans have been infected with bird flu, but experts, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, say this outbreak poses a low risk to people.
