QUEEN ANNE’S CO., MD - The highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, or bird flu, continues to spread on Delmarva with Queen Anne’s becoming the latest county to detect the virus.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture says bird flu was detected after routine testing at a broiler farm in Queen Anne’s County. The announcement comes just four days after the virus was detected at a commercial poultry operation in Caroline County. In Delaware, two Kent County commercial operations also detected bird flu.
H5N1 avian influenza has also been detected in wild snow geese in Sussex County, DE, and Worcester and Dorchester Counties, MD.
As with the infected birds in Caroline and Kent Counties, the Maryland Department of Agriculture says the affected Queen Anne’s County chickens have been euthanized and the affected properties have been quarantined.
Commercial growers and those with backyard flocks are asked to put biosecurity practices in place to prevent the spread of bird flu:
-Look for signs of illness. Know the warning signs of infectious bird diseases.
-Report suspected sick birds:
-To report a possible case of HPAI call the Maryland Department of Agriculture at 410-841-5810.
-Commercial chicken growers and backyard flock owners can email questions about the outbreak to MD.Birdflu@maryland.gov.
