ANNAPOLIS, Md. — In less than a month, two cases of H5N1 avian influenza have been confirmed in Maryland.
Federal laboratory testing confirmed the latest case among a broiler flock in Queen Anne’s County.
Earlier in the month another case was reported at a poultry farm in Cecil County.
Those follow two additional cases detected in New Castle County, Delaware.
State officials have since quarantined all affected properties, and the birds who were infected to prevent further spread.
Those birds will not enter the food supply chain.
For their part, federal and state regulators are expanding their surveillance sampling and testing regimen to better protect the poultry industry on the Delmarva Peninsula.
Avian influenza is a highly contagious airborne respiratory virus that spreads quickly among birds through nasal and eye secretions and manure.
The virus can be spread in various ways, including by equipment, and on the clothing and shoes of caretakers, affecting the likes of chickens, ducks, and turkeys.
