WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. -- On February 2nd, the Maryland Department of Agriculture announced it found the first presumptive case of bird flu at a commercial broiler farm in Worcester County. State scientists are encouraging Delmarva's poultry growers to remain on high alert.
What we know: According to MDA
- This is the fifth case of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza(HPAI) on a commercial poultry farm on Maryland's Eastern Shore
- Sixth case in the state of Maryland(confirmed case in a backyard flock in Montgomery County)
- Nine commercial operations on Delmarva are confirmed to have HPAI(Worcester, Dorchester, Caroline, Kent County, Delaware(2), Accomack County(2))
MDA is still awaiting final results for the case in Worcester County, but Dr. Jennifer Trout, MDA's State Veterinarian, told WBOC that initial signs do not look good.
"We call in non-negative, so once we get a non-negative, we send those samples to NVSL(National Veterinary Services Laboratory) in Iowa," said Trout.
Trout could not tell us the farm's location. However, she confirmed that the farm has been quarantined, and the birds on the property have been or will be depopulated. According to Trout, surrounding farms have also been quarantined.
She encourages farmers to be extra careful.
"Make sure you have dedicated footwear for each house, so you have a pair of boots in each house instead of saying, 'Oh, I have one pair of boots that I wear on the farm, and I go from house to house,'" said Trout.
Trout isn't the only official urging farmers to take extra steps to prevent the spread of bird flu.
Dr. Jonathan Moyle, a poultry expert with the University of Maryland Extension, echoed much of the same advice.
"Make sure that you have a line of separation; your biosecurity line needs to be your house," said Moyle.
Moyle noted that bird flu is spreading from wild birds, such as geese and swans, so he's asking farmers to do their best to fend off unwanted visitors.
"Since it's endemic in them now, what they're coming on your farm, one of the things we're encouraging people to do is scare them off," said Moyle. "Don't let them near your poultry farm, keep them away if you can, you can run your dog after them, you can harass them, just be careful not to kill anything."
According to MDA, shoppers should not be worried about buying poultry from the grocery store. MDA also reports the risk of the virus spreading from birds to people remains low.
For more information on bird flu, you can visit MDA's website.