SALEM, Ohio — Bird flu cases are soaring in Ohio and climbing in Pennsylvania.
Ohio currently leads the nation in highly pathogenic avian influenza cases in domestic poultry flocks. In the past month, 46 commercial flocks in Ohio — accounting for almost 9 million birds — have tested positive for H5N1, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania recently confirmed its first bird flu case in nearly a year on Jan. 27 in a commercial poultry flock in Lehigh County. The infection follows the deaths of thousands of migrating snow geese that were found to have died from H5N1 in that area. On Feb. 4, a commercial laying hen flock of 1.9 million birds in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania also tested positive for HPAI.
What Ohio is doing
The first detection of the virus in commercial flocks in Ohio came after Christmas Eve of 2024. Since then, the state has detected the virus at over 50 commercial sites and depopulated more than 10 million birds.
Reduced movement and activity among the flock, decreased feed and water consumption, illness or death are all indicators of the disease, according to Brian Baldridge, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture in an interview with Farm and Dairy. Despite the acceleration in cases in his state, Baldridge is projecting calm, and outlined the procedure for how the state is tackling infections.
Samples from flocks thought to carry the flu are sent to the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory on the ODA campus in Reynoldsburg for testing. If received before 10 a.m., results are available within seven hours. Any non-negative results, which are considered presumptive positives, require confirmation by the National Animal Health Laboratory Network in Iowa. A confirmed diagnosis qualifies the producer for USDA indemnity fund eligibility.
Officials will then try to prevent the virus from spreading further, notifying the producer and the Ohio Poultry Association. They will begin enforcing strict biosecurity precautions immediately, quarantining the site, preparing for depopulation and monitoring and testing through a subsequent composting phase.
Producers are responsible for completing a thorough cleaning of affected facilities before ODA collects samples for further testing to ensure that no virus remains in the facility where the diseased flock was housed. After that, Baldridge said that a 14-day window is observed during which impacted areas must remain empty, representing two cycles of the virus’s incubation period. All in all, Baldridge said that the time frame for this work can take anywhere from 45 to 75 days.
ODA has only confirmed the detection of bird flu in one dairy cattle herd in March of last year. That incident still stands as the first and only case of HPAI infection in a livestock operation in Ohio. Baldridge added that Ohio participates in the USDA’s voluntary National Milk Testing Strategy, which facilitates comprehensive H5N1 surveillance of the nation’s milk supply and dairy herds.
“Since March of 2024, Ohio has been doing our own surveillance monitoring with zero detections in dairy,” Baldridge said. He stressed that the ongoing poultry strain of bird flu has not moved to the state’s dairy population.
What Pa. is doing
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has ramped up efforts to reel in further infections of the bird flu after initial tests indicated positive cases of HPAI in commercial poultry in five counties.
In a press release, Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding emphasized the state’s coordinated response to protect farmers and the poultry and dairy industries, calling the growing crisis “the most devastating animal health crisis in American history.”
“Pennsylvania continues to take swift, aggressive action to protect our farmers and our dairy and poultry industries from avian influenza,” said Redding.
The state has quarantined affected farms and imposed stringent testing and movement restrictions within a 10-kilometer radius of infected flocks. Additionally, dairy farms within a 3-kilometer radius are subject to testing requirements and transportation restrictions.
Gov. Shapiro’s proposed 2025-26 budget includes a $2 million investment to maintain a new animal testing laboratory in western Pennsylvania. The administration has also allocated an additional $13 million to the Ag Innovation Fund to support innovative farming technologies and sustainability initiatives.
While no infections in cattle or humans have been reported in Pennsylvania, state officials continue to monitor the virus closely. Public health measures include extensive testing of milk and dairy cattle, prohibition of lactating cattle transport from infected states and the availability of free personal protective equipment for farm workers.
What you should do
While human cases of avian influenza have been reported in other states, primarily among people who have had close contact with infected birds or poultry, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains the risk to humans is low, but the agency is remaining vigilant. Around Feb. 6, according to the New York Times, the CDC issued a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report identifying house cats who became sick with bird flu and may have transferred the virus to people in the same household; the report was quickly withdrawn.
Health officials are reminding the public that the virus can spread through clothing and vehicles. Non-farmers are advised to avoid poultry farms, adhere to posted biosecurity notices and report, but not touch, sick or dead wild birds.
In Pennsylvania, if you have had contact with sick or dead birds and are not feeling well, contact your primary care physician or the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 877-724-3258.
In Ohio, if you had contact with infected birds or other animals and developed symptoms, contact your local health department and mention your exposure.
