A strain of avian flu that has infected cattle thruout the United States hasn’t been found in Pennsylvania. But even if it does arrive locally, experts said it won’t affect the meat or milk supply and will likely only cause a cold for cattle. According to Dustin Heeter who is a livestock educator with the Penn State Extension in Hempfield, “It poses no issue in the food supply chain at all.” The H5N1 influenza strain, which is widespread among wild fowl and a threat to domestic poultry, jumped from birds into cattle in late March, and later to a Texas dairy farmer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported April 1 that the person had eye redness and recovered. U.S. health officials are monitoring the situation, but the CDC stressed the public health risk is low.
