LANCASTER, Pa. — Eggs and poultry product prices may be on their way to record highs as the avian flu sweeps across the nation and central Pennsylvania.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that, as of April 22, there have been four affected commercial flocks in Pennsylvania, affecting a total of 3,500,400 birds.
Backyard flocks in the Commonwealth have yet to show any signs of infection, the USDA said.
Pennsylvania's Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding says the issue is still prevalent in our local areas.
"Our farms are still active," he said. "We are completely exposed to this virus."
The first cases were discovered at Kreider Farms in East Donegal Township, where a control zone is now in place to keep the animals and their caretakers safe.
"This is not over by any measure," Redding noted. "We're very concerned about what that means to the economic enterprise of poultry and agriculture. There are a lot of jobs at stake here. There a lot of trade relationships at stake so keeping it suppressed and contained is critical."
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture also reported in its Food Price Outlook that poultry prices this year are predicted to increase between a total of 7.5% and 8.5%. Egg prices are predicted to increase between a total of 6% and 7%.
Redding says he knows this is a major economic issue as well.
"This is about food," he said. "This is about food access and food security. So anything that disrupts that...has a bearing on price and consumers."
Terrill Frantz, an associate professor of E-business at Harrisburg University, said the price problems don’t look to be easing up.
"When you look at the recent reports...on price food price outlooks, it doesn't look very good for the near term future," Frantz explained. "Inflation is hitting us in on all angles."
While the state works to contain and protect the farms in the area, Secretary Redding said they are in "constant contact with our USDA partners who are embedded here to diagnose and to respond to this."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's current guidance notes that there is no health risk to the public with the avian flu. Any poultry and eggs are safe to eat as long as they're cooked properly.