Still flu season for chickens

Think “flu season” in January, and you are probably looking at your coughing co-workers or feeling your kid’s feverish head. But people aren’t the only ones who might be feeling under the weather.

Let’s not forget about the chickens. No, not for a bowl of soup. Chickens get sick, too.

In 2015, a multistate bout of avian influenza was killing off birds in large enough numbers to drive up the prices of eggs and chicken around the country. In Pennsylvania, birds weren’t getting sick, but the commonwealth, one of the largest poultry-farming states in the U.S., was taking steps to prevent that.

One of those steps? Keeping domestic fowl under quarantine. Agricultural shows and gatherings, like the poultry show at the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair, took unusual steps to have bird-free events. At the Grange Fair, chicken-shaped cutouts stood in for actual birds so 4-H projects could be judged, rather than mingle the birds and risk possible exposure for a whole flock.

According to Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, the “highly pathogenic” H5N2 virus “survives best in cooler temperatures,” meaning that the newly chilly January weather is not a deterrent to the bug.

While the outbreak still remains more of a Midwestern threat, with the state Department of Agriculture saying there hasn’t been a reported case in the Keystone State in more than 30 years, biosecurity precautions are still being urged.

Penn State ag officials have said the winter threat is from birds, particularly water fowl, migrating through the area and stopping at local lakes or ponds, possibly infecting area flocks.

The best practice, the Department of Agriculture says, is to not only keep the flocks protected and isolated, but to mitigate the risk of contamination by staying away from possible contagions and practicing safe hygiene by wearing clean clothes when coming in contact with the birds and scrubbing hands, boots and shoes with disinfectant before and after entering poultry areas.

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 4:58 PM with the headline "Still flu season for chickens."