A major outbreak of flu across the nation. At the same time, in Harrisburg this week thousands of people and thousands of animals coming together at the Farm Show.
With so many people and so many animals coming together in one place, is there a chance for animals to spread disease to people or visa versa?
The good news is that there has been very little in the way of illness among either the animal or the humans at the Farm Show. And the animal sometimes associated with transmission of an illness to humans, the pigs with swine flu, have largely now left the building.
The Department of Agriculture is keeping a close eye on your health and also that of the animals as well, because there is that very slight possibility of transfer of an illness from humans to animals or the other way around.
“Definitely they can, I mean we all carry illnesses,” stated Matthew Meals, Deputy Secretary for Animal Agriculture. “We have sanitation stations and that is to protect the humans, but that is also to protect the animals from any kind of virus that might be spreading.”
Unlike with us human visitors, the animals at the show all have a clean bill of health before they arrive.
“Yeah they have been pretty healthy this year,” commented John Fought of Sulfur Run Farms in Carlisle. “They all come with what we call a veterinary certification, where they have been inspected by a veterinarian.”
Vets and of course the farmers themselves are carefully checking the health of all the animals that are here everyday.
“Don't be eating as your walking through the swine barn or as you're walking through the dairy barn,” advised Meals, as one way to keep both you and the animals healthy.
Some of the animals at the Farm Show may be cleaner than you are.
So this year, so far good news on the health front for the animals, although maybe not quite as good for the humans. There are still a few pigs that you can see at the barn at the Expo Hall, some of the animals that take the spotlight the next couple of days are the dairy cattle, the sheep and poultry.
However, for us humans we need to make sure we are washing hands and protecting ourselves against the flu.
With so many people and so many animals coming together in one place, is there a chance for animals to spread disease to people or visa versa?
The good news is that there has been very little in the way of illness among either the animal or the humans at the Farm Show. And the animal sometimes associated with transmission of an illness to humans, the pigs with swine flu, have largely now left the building.
The Department of Agriculture is keeping a close eye on your health and also that of the animals as well, because there is that very slight possibility of transfer of an illness from humans to animals or the other way around.
“Definitely they can, I mean we all carry illnesses,” stated Matthew Meals, Deputy Secretary for Animal Agriculture. “We have sanitation stations and that is to protect the humans, but that is also to protect the animals from any kind of virus that might be spreading.”
Unlike with us human visitors, the animals at the show all have a clean bill of health before they arrive.
“Yeah they have been pretty healthy this year,” commented John Fought of Sulfur Run Farms in Carlisle. “They all come with what we call a veterinary certification, where they have been inspected by a veterinarian.”
Vets and of course the farmers themselves are carefully checking the health of all the animals that are here everyday.
“Don't be eating as your walking through the swine barn or as you're walking through the dairy barn,” advised Meals, as one way to keep both you and the animals healthy.
Some of the animals at the Farm Show may be cleaner than you are.
So this year, so far good news on the health front for the animals, although maybe not quite as good for the humans. There are still a few pigs that you can see at the barn at the Expo Hall, some of the animals that take the spotlight the next couple of days are the dairy cattle, the sheep and poultry.
However, for us humans we need to make sure we are washing hands and protecting ourselves against the flu.