Experts: Deadly avian flu at Pa.'s doorstep

HARRISBURG - An avian virus that has killed more than 47 million birds nationwide and caused an estimated $1 billion in economic losses in just two states is approaching Pennsylvania's borders, a panel of experts told state legislators Wednesday.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus does not affect humans. But because it can be easily transported - via migrating birds, trucks, even human shoes - state agencies, private companies, and Pennsylvania's 11,000 poultry farmers must be prepared to respond quickly if it is detected within the state, the experts said.

"This is a threat unlike any other the American poultry industry has seen before," Russell Redding, state agriculture secretary, told the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

Sherrill Davison, director of the Laboratory of Avian Medicine and Pathology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, said the virus was recently discovered to have spread to birds in Ontario and Michigan.

"It is on our doorstep," she said.

The virus has a number of strains, Davison said, but two have been spreading rapidly since being detected in California last December.

Upon reaching the Midwest, Davison said, the virus decimated the poultry industry there. The economic loss in Iowa and Minnesota, according to Davison, has been estimated at $1 billion.

About half of egg-producing chickens in Iowa have been killed, Chris Pierce, president of Heritage Poultry Management Services, told the committee.

With poultry farms in Pennsylvania generating about $13 billion in overall economic activity, he said, any case detected here could have significant consequences - such as requiring entire flocks to be quarantined or euthanized.

"Our biggest concern right now is, we are not immune to this issue," Pierce said.

Committee members asked the panel about the state's preparedness, the possible costs of containing the spread, how to inform the public, and what the posttreatment recovery could look like.

"It occurs to me [there] is going to be a massive need for manpower," said Rep. Russ Diamond (R., Lebanon).

Redding said his department has been educating farmers and the industry about precautions to try to stem the virus from spreading, such as keeping tabs on who and what visits their farms. The department has also been preparing a multiagency plan to respond if a case is detected, he said.

He said he believes that effort is sufficiently equipped to handle an outbreak if detected early but might need to request additional manpower or resources if the situation were to spread beyond a few flocks.

Birds across the state are regularly tested at the university's lab, and experts have developed procedures for what happens if a case is discovered.

Still, Redding warned that a response would require help from beyond his agency.

"This is not just a weekend event," he said.

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