New cases of bird flu have been identified in Pennsylvania and Utah, according to the USDA

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On Saturday, the US Department of Agriculture said new cases of bird flu have been detected in a commercial chicken flock in Pennsylvania and a backyard flock in Utah, with the disease now spreading to more than 30 states in the country.

The government said earlier this month that it was considering vaccinations as an option to protect poultry from the deadly bird flu as the country faces its worst outbreak since 2015. The current outbreak has killed more than 10,000 people since February. Twenty million chickens and turkeys in commercial flocks. †

“Pennsylvania herd samples were tested at the Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory and Utah herd samples tested at the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, both part of the National Animal Health Laboratories Network,” the USDA said in a statement Saturday.

The USDA said federal and state officials are jointly working on additional monitoring and testing in areas around infected flocks.

US authorities have said recent cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza do not pose an immediate public health concern.

Previously, the United States avoided vaccinations for fear that importers would prevent the shipment of American poultry because they could not distinguish between infected and vaccinated birds. The United States is the world’s second largest poultry meat exporter. In 2020, exports of poultry and poultry products from the United States to the world amounted to $4.2 billion.

Avian influenza has infected poultry in Europe and Asia, as well as North America, and the USDA is working with other countries on vaccine options.

Trade suffered as importers such as China blocked imports from many US states with the outbreak.

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