March 21st HPAI Afternoon Update

• Franklin
• Lancaster

You can continue to find out if your dairy farm is located in or near these Control Zones. Click here to view an interactive map, where you can enter your farm’s address to determine your proximity to the Control Buffer Zones. As a reminder, while this strain is being transmitted through wild geese in the Eastern Fly-Way Zones and is not the strain that has infected dairy cattle in other states, dairy farms in any of the Control Zones around an infected poultry or dairy premise are required to conduct surveillance. This is part of the Department’s quarantine order (click here to read) in an effort to exercise precaution for both dairy farms and poultry facilities.

My dairy farm is showing up in a Control Zone. Now what? 

• When a positive case is identified, the PA State Vet’s Office will reach out directly to any dairy farms within the Control Buffer Zones about testing.
• Each herd must have a USDA issued federal premises identification number registered with the Department. Any new farms can complete the attached premises registration form to obtain a premises ID number. Dairy premises can be reported to RA-PREMISE-ID@pa.gov.  A Premise ID will ensure they appear on the Department’s map so they can be alerted to new infected premises and any surveillance requirements
• Per the Department’s response plan, dairies in the Infected Zone shall submit weekly bulk tank or in-line milk samples representing the entire milking herd until the control area is closed.
• Email the Department at RA-ahds@pa.gov with questions.
• Learn more about the weekly surveillance.

View the Interactive Map

The PA Dept. of Agriculture still strongly encourages dairy farms to sign up for the voluntary bulk tank surveillance program to detect HPAI on the farm at a faster rate. 

To ensure that our state remains free of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, the PA Department of Agriculture is encouraging all dairies to enroll in this free program. Both the Exhibition and Import Quarantine Orders allow substitution of the individual cow test with proof of your participation in this dairy herd milk monitoring program.

The PA Department of Agriculture has answered these questions and more in their Frequently Asked Questions document:

• What is the program?
• Why should I join?
• How do I submit samples?
• What if my samples come back positive?
• What is PDA doing to protect the identity of my farm?
• Are there false positives?

The PA Department of Agriculture has answered these questions and more in a new Frequently Asked Questions document. Click here to view the FAQs, and click here to learn more about the program.