Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on Saturday that new cases of bird flu had been detected in a Pennsylvania commercial poultry farm and a Utah backyard chicken operation. It is now known that the virus has spread to other parts of the country, including more than 30.

As the nation faces its worst bird flu outbreak in years, the department stated earlier this month that it is looking at vaccines to help protect birds. Since February, the current epidemic has decimated well over 20 million poultry and turkeys from commercial flocks.

The USDA released a statement Saturday stating that samples taken from Pennsylvania’s flock were examined at the Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory (NYSE) and Utah’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Both are part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network.

The USDA stated that federal and state officials collaborated on extra surveillance and testing of areas surrounding affected flocks.

U.S. authorities stated that the HPAI cases are not a concern for public health.

The United States had previously avoided vaccines because it was afraid that U.S. importers would ban U.S. poultry exports as they can’t distinguish between infected and vaccinated birds. United States is second in the world for poultry meat exports. U.S. poultry exports and products to the world amounted to $4.2 Billion in 2020.

Bird flu is now affecting poultry worldwide, including North America. The USDA has been working closely with countries to develop vaccines.

Importers from China, among others have resisted imports from U.S. States with outbreaks. This has caused trade to suffer.