As the scope of highly pathogenic avian flu continues to expand, federal officials over the weekend reported the first outbreaks in Pennsylvania and Utah, bringing the number of affected states to 29.

Federal and state officials also reported more outbreaks in already affected states, especially in the hard-hit Midwest.

Layers in Pennsylvania, backyard flocks in Utah

Pennsylvania's outbreak occurred at a commercial layer farm in Lancaster County, in the southeastern part of the state near Harrisburg, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said in a statement.

In late March, the state had reported a positive H5N1 sample from wild bird surveillance.

Also, APHIS said the virus was confirmed in samples from a backyard flock in Utah County, Utah, which is in the north central region and includes Provo. The detection marks the first appearance of the virus in the state; so far, no positives have been reported in wild-bird sampling.

A handful of other western states have recently reported their first outbreaks in poultry, including Idaho, Colorado, and Montana.

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