State officials said Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, that they have confirmed the first case of avian influenza in Lancaster County in a commercial flock somewhere near Witmer in East Lampeter Township.
Chris Knight / LNP | LancasterOnline
Threat of bird flu in Pa. still present, despite popular wildlife area reopening to public
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Rachel McDevitt/StateImpact Pennsylvania
Chris Knight / LNP | LancasterOnline
State officials said Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, that they have confirmed the first case of avian influenza in Lancaster County in a commercial flock somewhere near Witmer in East Lampeter Township.
A popular bird-watching spot is open again, after officials there determined the threat of avian flu spreading in that spot was low. But experts say farmers should not drop their guard against the virus, with some arguing biosecurity measures should be expanded beyond a farm’s boundaries.
Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area’s reopening does not indicate that the overall threat of avian flu has passed.
“Wild birds carry and spread the virus,” said Shannon Powers, press secretary for the state Department of Agriculture. “Despite being past peak snow geese migration, wild birds continue to be present and a threat.”
Lancaster County still has an active quarantine zone from a case reported March 7 affecting 6,500 poultry, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Other recent cases include live bird markets in Philadelphia and Lehigh counties, affecting 420 and 350 birds, respectively.
Since January, 2,324,640 birds in Pennsylvania have been affected by avian flu.
Powers said there is no rating that differentiates the level of threat from avian flu. She said the agency encourages constant heightened biosecurity, since minimizing risks is the best way to keep flocks safe.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization on March 17 warned the spread of the H5N1 virus has reached an “unprecedented” scale and called for a coordinated, global effort to strengthen biosecurity, surveillance and rapid-response mechanisms to curb the outbreak.
Looking beyond the farm
The current outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) started in the U.S. three years ago.
Maurice Pitesky, a professor at University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine who specializes in poultry health and food safety epidemiology, said the virus is in so many animals now that the idea that it will just go away is not reality.
Avian flu cases may wind down through the spring, because migratory birds that carry the virus will be wrapping up their seasonal journeys. But, Pitesky said, cases will likely spike when birds migrate again in the fall.
Louise Moncla, assistant professor of pathobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, said the HPAI virus mixes with other, low pathogenic variants to create genetically new viruses. So, while one wave of flu virus might be fading, she said avian flu will continue to cause problems down the road.
“It is challenging, if not impossible, to predict exactly what will happen, because new lineages could emerge,” Moncla said.
Future risk is not incredibly well understood, she added.
“In Europe where these viruses have established, we see seasonal transmission and spillovers into poultry, so it’s possible that we will see that in the future here as well,” Moncla said. “However, it’s too early to say, so we will need to continue monitoring.”
Pitesky said farmers and government agencies need to think about biosecurity beyond the fence line of a farm.
“Everything’s connected,” he said.
Pitesky is also the CEO of AgriNerds, a company that provides analytical tools to farmers. Its Waterfowl Alert Network uses public data, including weather statistics and satellite imagery, to map wild birds.
Pitesky said the data show that where there is an increase in wild bird populations indicates where commercial cases of avian flu will arise. He said to offer better protection, biosecurity efforts need to stretch to a 2.5 mile radius around the farm.
Pitesky said the response to avian flu over the past three years has been reactive. He said agencies need to be proactive in warning farmers when there is a threat from nearby wild birds to get a handle on the outbreak.
Middle Creek reopening decision
Brant Portner, environmental education specialist at Middle Creek, said a few factors decided their reopening earlier this month.
Staff did not find large numbers of sick or dead birds like those that were seen in other parts of the state. They only found a few dozen dead birds. Portner said they haven’t found a positive case of avian flu in a few weeks.
The snow goose migration peaked on Feb. 18 with 100,000 birds. That number fell to just 250 geese on March 14. With fewer birds, Portner said the risk is lower that people will come into contact and carry the avian flu virus off site.
Portner said Middle Creek’s visitor center saw a marked decrease in traffic while restrictions were in place. He said the park offers other resources to enjoy the migration, such as the population counts posted online and a livestream.
“If you wake up at 3 in the morning in a cold sweat wondering how many snow geese are at Middle Creek, you can check out the webcam,” Portner said.
Even though the popular snow geese have left, Portner said there are still other interesting birds to see at Middle Creek. In the spring, people can see short-eared owls that nest in tall grass.
“As soon as the sun starts to set these owls take off out of the grasses and hunt for the day, so that’s kind of a big draw,” Portner said.
Small, quick warblers arrive later in spring, giving photographers a challenge.
Portner said the preserve has many public events scheduled, including a monthly speaker series and a World Migratory Bird Day event on May 10.
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