Bird flu has been detected in three different commercial poultry flocks in Maryland over the past week, the first outbreak in the state in more than a year. The discovery came shortly after a joint command center was established with Delaware after the state detected the H5N1 virus at two other poultry farms.
The deadly bird flu has been circulating in North America since 2022, but recent months have been particularly difficult for the poultry industry. More than 20 million laying hens died this fall, the worst mortality rate since the outbreak began, and egg prices rose as a result.
So far, about 134 million birds in the commercial poultry industry have been affected by the U.S. outbreak, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA has a new stockpile of H5N1 vaccine for poultry but has no plans to use it yet, Eric Deeble, the USDA’s deputy assistant secretary for marketing and regulatory programs, told reporters Thursday.
Officials said the outbreak shows the need for increased vigilance for animals and people who come into contact with them.
To expedite contact tracing and public health investigations, hospitals must test all influenza-positive patients, especially those in intensive care units, within 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a health alert Thursday. announced that it was necessary.
Cooperation between state and local governments is critical to combating cross-border spread, and existing relationships could play a larger role in the incoming Trump administration amid uncertainty over national agency leadership. There is sex.
Chickens are big business in Delmarva, a peninsula between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean that includes all of Delaware and parts of Maryland and Virginia, $4.4 billion last year to be exact.
The region is one of the nation’s leading producers of broilers, or young chickens slaughtered for meat, raising 601 million chickens each year, approximately 6.5% of the nation’s poultry supply. do. The largely rural area is lined with long, low-lying chicken coops, each temporarily housing thousands of birds.
The first warning that bird flu had returned to Delmarva came from the sewage. Routine testing of wastewater near Georgetown, Delaware’s poultry processing center, detected H5 avian influenza the week of Dec. 7.
Second, a high likelihood of infection from a person with no known contact with animals was detected through routine monitoring of influenza A-positive cases.
Next, there were snow geese.
Migratory birds head from the Arctic to the Caribbean each year to migrate along the Atlantic flyway, but this year, unseasonably warm weather in the north has caused the journey to begin later than usual, according to the USDA. Coordinator Alex Turner said. he said on Thursday. This means more cases are likely to be detected in commercial and backyard poultry as the migratory season is still winding down, he said.
Since late December, 40 to 50 snow geese have been sick at Prime Hook Beach, next to the National Wildlife Refuge, which has 10,000 acres of wetland that slopes Delaware’s coastline into the ocean. was found dead.
In early January, seven snow geese were also spotted along Maryland’s Eastern Shore near Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. In both cases, the geese tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza. The virus was also detected in chickens.
It first broke out in a swarm in Kent County, Delaware, on Jan. 3, then in another swarm on Jan. 9 after authorities began searching the surrounding area.
Immediately after the first infections were detected in wild birds, Delaware and Maryland established command centers to track the outbreak and conduct follow-up sampling throughout affected areas in both states.
“During our aggressive response, we do not consider state borders,” said Stacy Hoffman, spokeswoman for the Delaware-Maryland Avian Influenza Joint Information Center. “When the first suspected case occurs on a commercial poultry farm or in a backyard flock, multi-state response teams are already communicating and working in full force.”
Maryland soon confirmed cases in neighboring counties, all on broiler farms, first in Caroline County on January 10th, then Queen Anne County on January 14th, and then Caroline County on January 15th. It occurred in the county.
“All commercial chickens in Delaware and Maryland are tested for avian influenza before they go to processing,” Hoffman said. “There are no exceptions.”
Producers and backyard flock owners can also report sick or dead birds to the state Department of Agriculture, she said, because “the poultry industry is so important to our economy.” “We have been preparing for HPAI (highly pathogenic avian species),” he added. influenza) for many years.
After a suspected case of avian influenza is confirmed by the USDA’s national laboratory, infected flock birds are culled to prevent further spread of the virus.
The reaction is not limited to birds. Chase Cook, director of communications for the Maryland Department of Health, said the state Department of Agriculture is “focused on farms,” while the health department provides “guidance to these agencies to communicate to workers.” said.
This guidance includes what types of protective equipment to wear around infected birds (such as goggles and respirators) and what symptoms to look out for if transmission can occur between humans. May include should.
Since March 2024, there have been 67 confirmed and 7 probable cases of H5N1 infection in the United States, as well as additional cases confirmed by blood tests. Three of the confirmed cases had no known animal exposure.
At least 23 people have contracted avian influenza in commercial poultry farming, including one person in Louisiana who became ill after coming into contact with backyard flocks and wild birds.
A patient in Louisiana died this month from the H5N1 variant circulating among birds. The same strain caused severe illness in a 13-year-old girl in British Columbia, Canada.
CDC Principal Deputy Director Nirav Shah said accelerating testing schedules for hospitalized patients, such as those in Louisiana and Canada, will help reveal how a patient’s disease is progressing and whether the virus is changing. He said it was supposed to be.
“The current system is already telling us what happened,” Shah said Thursday. “What we need to do is move to a system that tells us what’s going on.”
