Dover, Del. (November 21, 2023) – The Delaware Department of Agriculture is urging all poultry owners, including commercial producers and backyard flock owners, to take precautions to protect their flocks from disease after a commercial broiler flock in Caroline County, Maryland, was preliminarily confirmed to have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Further confirmation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory is pending.

Avian influenza is an airborne respiratory virus that spreads easily among chickens through nasal and eye secretions, as well as manure. The virus can be spread in various ways from flock to flock, including by wild birds, through contact with infected poultry, by equipment, and on the clothing and shoes of caretakers. Avian influenza can infect poultry, such as chickens, ducks, turkeys, pheasants, geese, and guinea fowl, and is carried by some wild bird species, such as ducks, geese, shorebirds, and raptors.

Wild birds typically do not show signs of illness but can shed the virus at high levels in their manure or droppings if infected. In fact, one gram of contaminated manure, enough to cover a dime, can infect one million birds. Therefore, Delaware poultry is at risk from exposure if they can access areas where free-flying waterfowl and wild birds are in the environment. Additionally, if a person steps in contaminated manure while out and about, they can bring the virus back to their domesticated birds, where the birds can eat it, causing infection.

Biosecurity refers to everything people can do to protect their flock to stop anything that causes disease away from the birds, property, and people. Anyone raising or working around poultry should follow these key biosecurity practices:

• Wear designated farm clothing and shoes when working with your birds, or use disposable shoe coverings each time you enter your flock area. If you have multiple chicken houses, have a dedicated pair of footwear that you keep in each house. Use footbaths before entering a chicken house.
• Wash your hands before and after working with your birds to reduce the chance of spreading infectious particles.
• Clean and disinfect any equipment or bird housing/coops before bringing them onto your property. Avian influenza can survive in manure for several months, especially with high moisture and low temperatures.
• Starlings, songbirds, vultures, and other raptors can be carriers of avian influenza and not show signs of disease. Consider hanging a bird deterrent in the poultry house doorway when working in the poultry house while doors are open.
• Wash your vehicles and trailers after visiting other poultry facilities, and go through a car wash before you return home.
• Keep visitors to a minimum. Only allow those who are responsible for caring for your flock to come in contact with the birds. Limit, monitor, and record any movement of people, vehicles, or animals on or off your farm using a logbook. If visitors had contact with other poultry, have pet birds, or had contact with wild birds (e.g., hunting), do not let them come in contact with your flock.

When adding birds to your flock, purchase them from a reputable source. The baby chicks purchased at local farm stores come from NPIP-certified flocks tested and shown to be free from avian influenza. When they are two weeks old, these chicks will typically leave the store with their new owner, so they are considered low-risk for having the disease. However, they are more susceptible to contracting the virus from their new environment once they are about three weeks old. Make sure to keep new birds or returning show birds separated from established home flocks for 30 days.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture requires the registration of all locations where live poultry is kept. This allows timely information on disease incidents to be sent to all producers. If you have not registered your flock, please visit https://de.gov/poultry to access the Backyard Flock Registration Form.

No matter the size, all poultry farms should be monitoring flocks for any signs of increased mortality. Pay particular attention to see if any birds show signs of respiratory illness or distress, such as sneezing, gasping for air, coughing, and/or runny nose. Other signs of HPAI in poultry can include swelling around the eyes, neck, and head; purple discoloration of the wattles, combs, and legs; tremors, drooping wings, circling, twisting of the head and neck, or any combination; watery, green diarrhea; lack of energy, poor appetite; and a drop in egg production, or soft or thin-shelled, misshapen eggs.

If You Have Sick Poultry or Experience Increased Mortality in Your Flock:

• Commercial poultry producers should follow the procedures of contacting the company they grow for when they notice signs of disease.
• Delaware backyard flock owners who notice any signs of HPAI in their flock should call the Delaware Poultry Health Hotline at 302-698-4507 or email poultry.health@delaware.gov and provide your contact information, flock size, location, and concerns.
• Backyard flock owners will be contacted if a sample needs to be taken. Do not take dead or sick birds to a lab to be tested or move them off-site.

###

DOVER, Del. (May 11, 2022)—Federal laboratory testing confirmed cases of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI) in samples taken from black vultures initially found sick and dead on April 22 in Harford County, Maryland. Following an investigation by the Maryland Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MDA, DNR) and the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services, the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed samples submitted from the dead birds tested positive for HPAI.

These detections mark the Delmarva region’s first confirmation of HPAI in wild birds since February 17, when the virus was found through wildlife surveillance in a Canada goose in Kent County, Delaware.

HPAI is known to be carried by wild birds, especially waterfowl, raptors, and vultures. Avian influenza is a highly contagious airborne respiratory virus that spreads quickly among birds through nasal and eye secretions and manure. As scavengers, vultures will feed on dead wildlife, including other wild birds. If they ingest the virus, they can get sick and die. It is believed the vultures contracted the virus from eating infected migratory bird species.

Even with the ongoing detections of HPAI in poultry and wild birds in the United States, continuing testing of people in close contact with infected poultry indicates a low risk to the general public’s health. This H5N1 virus has not shown an ability to infect and be transmitted between people. Avian influenza does not affect poultry meat or egg products, which remain safe to eat. Properly cooking poultry and eggs to 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill viruses or bacteria.

Since the initial detection in Harford County, more than 100 black vultures have died from the disease. A total count cannot be confirmed because wild birds often get sick and die where people cannot see them. Black vultures are also known to fly long distances, which means infected vultures may die in other locations and transmit the virus to other birds, including poultry.

Six farms on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Delaware were identified as impacted by HPAI between February 23 and March 18, 2022. With the first confirmation in a commercial poultry farm, a state-federal response was initiated between the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA), MDA, and USDA.

Considering the ongoing detections in the black vulture population, all poultry owners need to continue with increased vigilance in protecting their flocks from contracting avian influenza.

 Follow these steps to help manage wildlife and keep avian influenza off your farm:

• Cover waste. Keep mortality and compost piles covered at all times. The recommendation is one part mortalities to two parts litter, with birds in layers no more than 5 inches deep and not placed next to sidewalls. Cover mortalities daily with litter. If vultures are still an issue, cover the bins with netting or a screen.
• Remove standing water adjacent to poultry houses. Grade property to avoid pooling water. Fill or grade areas where water stands for more than 48 hours after heavy rainfall. Don’t walk or move equipment through or near standing water – this could track wildlife fecal matter or other contaminants with the virus into your barns. Never use untreated surface water for watering birds, cleaning poultry barns, or other facilities.
• Manage ponds and basins on poultry farms. Prune or remove plants from banks of artificial water structures. Use wire grids, predator decoys, and scare devices to keep waterfowl away. Use fencing to separate natural ponds from the active area around barns.
• Secure buildings. Regularly check and repair damaged screens on windows and doors and holes in barn walls. Install netting or screens and use repellent gel or bird spikes to deter perching. Wash away or remove old nests before each nesting season. It is unlawful to remove nests with eggs or young birds in them.
• Reduce food sources. Don’t feed wildlife. Remove spilled or uneaten feed immediately and ensure feed storage units are secure and free of holes. Wild birds can carry HPAI.
• Use decoys. Install decoys and scare devices and move them often so wildlife doesn’t get used to them.

If you have sick poultry or experience increased mortality in your flock:

• Commercial poultry producers should contact the company they grow for when they notice signs of disease.
• Backyard flock owners who notice any signs of HPAI in their flock should contact:

o In Delaware, email the Delaware Poultry Health Hotline at poultry.health@delaware.gov or call 302-698-4507 and provide your contact information, size of flock, location, and concerns.
o In Maryland, report any unusual or sudden increases in sick birds to the MDA Animal Health Program at 410-841-5810. Commercial chicken growers and backyard flock owners can email questions about the outbreak to Birdflu@maryland.gov.

If you see sick or dead wild birds, do not handle or move them. Report any sick wild birds.

• For assistance in Maryland, call toll-free 1-877-463-6497. U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services operators are available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except on state holidays. For phone numbers outside of Maryland, please call 410-349-8055.
• For assistance in Delaware, please visit our sick or dead wildlife reporting page or call 302-739-9912 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours, weekends, and state holidays, leave a message at 302-735-3600, Ext. 2.

For more information on avian influenza, visit https://de.gov/poultry or https://mda.maryland.gov/avianflu.

###

Additional Information: For all media requests about HPAI, email: JIC@delaware.gov

DOVER, Del. (March 17, 2022)— Federal laboratory testing has confirmed a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI) case in a commercial broiler farm in Kent County, Delaware. Following an investigation by the Delaware Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed poultry from this farm tested positive for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI).

This avian influenza detection follows previously announced cases on farms in New Castle County, Delaware, and Cecil and Queen Anne’s Counties, Maryland. Following these cases, federal and state partners have greatly expanded their surveillance sampling and testing regimen to better protect the poultry industry on the Delmarva Peninsula.

State officials have quarantined all affected premises, and the birds have been depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from affected flocks will not enter the food system.

There is currently minimal risk to public health as there have been no human cases of HPAI in the United States. Avian influenza does not affect poultry meat or egg products, which remain safe to eat.

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 from flock to flock, including by wild birds, through contact with infected poultry, by equipment, and on the clothing and shoes of caretakers. This virus affects poultry, like chickens, ducks, turkeys, and wild bird species such as ducks, geese, shorebirds, and raptors.

Considering this new case and the prevalence of the virus in the wild bird population, all poultry owners need to increase their vigilance in protecting their flocks from contracting avian influenza by following these steps:

• Limit, monitor, and record any movement of people, vehicles, or animals on or off your farm.
• Permit only essential workers and vehicles to enter the farm to limit the chances of bringing the virus from an outside source.
• Avoid visiting other poultry farms and any unnecessary travel off the farm.
• Disinfect equipment, vehicles, footwear, and other items that come into contact with flocks.
• Keep your flock away from wild or migratory birds, especially waterfowl.
• Isolate any ill animals and contact your veterinarian.

If You Have Sick Poultry or Experience Increased Mortality in Your Flock:

• Commercial poultry producers should follow the procedures of contacting the company they grow for when they notice signs of disease.
• Backyard flock owners who notice any of the signs of HPAI in their flock should contact:
  • In Delaware, email the Delaware Poultry Health Hotline at poultry.health@delaware.gov or call 302-698-4507 and provide your contact information, size of flock, location, and concerns.
  • In Maryland, report any unusual or sudden increases in sick birds to the MDA Animal Health Program at 410-841-5810. Commercial chicken growers and backyard flock owners can email questions about the outbreak to MD.Birdflu@maryland.gov.

###

Additional Information:
For all media requests about HPAI, email: JIC@delaware.gov
Due to biosecurity concerns, no on-site interviews, photos, or videos are allowed. For more information on avian influenza, visit https://de.gov/poultry or https://mda.maryland.gov/AvianFlu.

DOVER, Del. (March 9, 2022)— Federal laboratory testing has confirmed two cases of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI)—one pullet operation in New Castle County, Delaware, and one broiler flock in Queen Anne’s County, Maryland. Following an investigation by the Delaware and Maryland Departments of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory has confirmed poultry from these farms have tested positive for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI).

These avian influenza findings follow previously announced cases on farms in New Castle County, Delaware, and Cecil County, Maryland. Following these cases, federal and state partners have greatly expanded their surveillance sampling and testing regimen to better protect the poultry industry on the Delmarva Peninsula.

State officials have quarantined all affected premises, and birds on the properties are being or have been depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from affected flocks will not enter the food system.

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 from flock to flock, including by wild birds, through contact with infected poultry, by equipment, and on the clothing and shoes of caretakers. This virus affects poultry, like chickens, ducks, and turkeys, along with some wild bird species such as ducks, geese, shorebirds, and raptors.

Considering these new cases and the prevalence of the virus in the wild bird population, all poultry owners need to increase their vigilance in protecting their flocks from contracting avian influenza.

Key biosecurity practices:

• Clean and disinfect vehicles. Don’t walk through or drive trucks, tractors, or equipment in areas where waterfowl or other wildlife feces may be. If you can’t avoid this, clean your shoes, vehicle, and equipment thoroughly to prevent bringing disease agents back to your flock. This is especially important when visiting with farmers or those who hunt wildfowl, such as when gathering at a local coffee shop, restaurant, or gas station.
• Remove loose feed. Don’t give wild birds, rodents, and insects a free lunch! Remove spilled or uneaten feed immediately and ensure feed storage units are secure and free of holes. Wild birds can carry HPAI.
• Keep visitors to a minimum. Only allow those people who take care of your poultry to come in contact with your birds, including family and friends. Make sure everyone who has contact with your flock follows biosecurity principles.
• Wash your hands before and after coming in contact with live poultry. Wash with soap and water (always your first choice). If using a hand sanitizer, remove manure, feathers, and other materials from your hands because disinfectants will not penetrate organic matter or caked-on dirt.
• Provide disposable boot covers (preferred) or disinfectant footbaths for anyone having contact with your flock. If using a footbath, be sure to remove all droppings, mud, or debris from boots and shoes using a long-handled scrub brush BEFORE stepping into the disinfectant footbath, and always keep it clean.
• Change clothes before entering poultry areas and before exiting the property.
When handling birds, visitors should wear protective outer garments or disposable coveralls, boots, and headgear. Shower out and change clothes when leaving the facility.
• Clean and disinfect tools or equipment before moving them to a new poultry facility. Before allowing vehicles, trucks, tractors, or tools and equipment (e.g., egg flats and cases) that have come in contact with birds or their droppings to exit the property, ensure they are cleaned and disinfected to prevent contaminated equipment from transporting disease. Do not move or reuse items that cannot be cleaned and disinfected, such as cardboard egg flats.
• Look for signs of illness. Know the warning signs of infectious bird diseases.

If You Have Sick Poultry or Experience Increased Mortality in Your Flock:
• Commercial poultry producers should follow the procedures of contacting the company they grow for when they notice signs of disease.
• Backyard flock owners who notice any of the signs of HPAI in their flock should contact:

•  In Delaware, email the Delaware Poultry Health Hotline at poultry.health@delaware.gov or call 302-698-4507 and provide your contact information, size of flock, location, and concerns.
• In Maryland, report any unusual or sudden increases in sick birds to the MDA Animal Health Program at 410-841-5810. Commercial chicken growers and backyard flock owners can email questions about the outbreak to MD.Birdflu@maryland.gov.

###

Additional Information:
For all media requests about HPAI, email: JIC@delaware.gov
Due to biosecurity concerns, no on-site interviews, photos, or videos are allowed. For more information on avian influenza, visit https://de.gov/poultry or https://mda.maryland.gov/Pages/AvianFlu.aspx.

DOVER, Del. (March 1, 2022) – The Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) has been warning poultry owners since January to take extra precautions to protect their birds in light of detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds in the Atlantic Flyway. But after a case of HPAI was announced last week in a commercial poultry farm in New Castle County, DDA is reminding owners that biosecurity is the best way to protect bird health.

Biosecurity refers to everything that people can do to protect their flock to stop anything that causes disease away from the birds, property, and people.

Avian influenza is an airborne respiratory virus that spreads easily among chickens through nasal and eye secretions, as well as manure. The virus can be spread in various ways from flock to flock, including by wild birds, through contact with infected poultry, by equipment, and on the clothing and shoes of caretakers.

Wild birds typically do not show signs of illness, but they can shed the virus at high levels in their manure or droppings if infected. In fact, one gram of contaminated manure, enough to cover a dime, can infect one million birds. Therefore, Delaware poultry is at risk from exposure if they have access to areas where free-flying waterfowl and wild birds are present in the environment. Additionally, if a person steps in contaminated manure while out and about, they can bring the virus back to their domesticated birds, where the birds can eat it, causing infection.

So what can you do, especially when wild birds fly overhead, dropping fecal matter all over during their migration?
• Keep your poultry away from wild ducks, geese, and their environment, including ponds, lakes, and swampy areas.
• Restrict small flocks from sharing their habitat with wild waterfowl by maintaining outdoor enclosures with solid roofs and wire mesh or netted sides. Repair any holes or tears that would allow birds or rodents to enter.
• Provide feed and water in an indoor or covered area. Change it daily and promptly clean up any spilled feed so as not to attract wildlife.
• Wear designated farm shoes when working with your birds or use disposable shoe coverings each time you enter your flock area. If you have multiple chicken houses, have a dedicated set of footwear that you keep in each house. Use footbaths before entering a chicken house.
• Wash your hands before and after working with your birds to reduce the chance of spreading infectious particles.
• Clean and disinfect any equipment or bird housing/coops before bringing them onto your property. Avian influenza virus can survive in manure for several months, especially with high moisture and low temperatures.
• Starlings, songbirds, vultures, and other raptors can be carriers of avian influenza and not show signs of disease. Consider hanging a bird deterrent in the doorway of poultry houses while doors are open when working in the poultry house.
• Wash your vehicles and trailers after visiting other poultry facilities and go through a car wash before you return home.
• Keep visitors to a minimum. Only allow those people who have direct responsibility in taking care of your flock to come in contact with the birds. Keep track of everyone who comes onto your property at all times by using a logbook. If they had contact with other poultry, have pet birds, or had contact with wild birds (e.g., hunting), do not let them come in contact with your flock.

When adding birds to your flock, make sure to purchase them from a reputable source. The baby chicks purchased at local farm stores come from NPIP certified flocks tested and shown to be free from avian influenza. When they are two weeks old, these chicks will typically leave the store with their new owner, so they are considered low-risk for having the disease. However, once they are about three weeks old, they are more susceptible to contracting the virus from their new environment. Make sure to keep new birds or returning show birds separated from established home flocks for 30 days.

No matter the size, all poultry farms should be monitoring flocks for any signs of increased mortality. Pay particular attention to see if any birds show signs of respiratory illness or distress, such as sneezing, gasping for air, coughing, and/or runny nose. Other signs of HPAI in poultry can include swelling around the eyes, neck, and head; purple discoloration of the wattles, combs, and legs; tremors, drooping wings, circling, twisting of the head and neck, or any combination; watery, green diarrhea; lack of energy, poor appetite; and a drop in egg production, or soft or thin-shelled, misshapen eggs.

Backyard flock owners who notice any of the signs of HPAI in their flock should contact the Delaware Poultry Health Hotline at 302-698-4507 or send an email to poultry.health@delaware.gov with contact information, size of flock, location, and concerns. Backyard flock owners will be contacted if a sample needs to be taken. Do not take dead or sick birds to a lab to be tested or move them off-site.

Commercial poultry producers should follow the procedures of contacting the company they grow for when they notice signs of disease.

###