The testing of a commercial flock of broiler chickens in Delaware showed the first “presumptive” case of H5 bird flu in the state. Because of the highly contagious nature of the virus, there are concerns throughout the multibillion-dollar poultry industry, including in Maryland.
The testing was conducted on a flock at a Kent County, Delaware, farm. The results were reported Friday morning, a week after a presumptive positive result for the highly contagious bird flu was found in wild Snow Geese near the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Milton, Delaware.
Findings are regarded as “presumptive” until further confirmation through testing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory.
A press release from the Delaware Department of Agriculture stated that as many as 850 wild birds — most of them Snow Geese or other waterfowl — were found dead in the area in recent weeks.
Poultry farmers in Delaware and in Maryland — even noncommercial properties where chickens or ducks are kept as pets — are being urged to take precautions and be vigilant. Guidance from the Maryland Department of Agriculture issued in mid-December urged farmers to practice “enhanced biosecurity” on their properties.
Far from Delaware, Maryland’s state parks have taken their own precautions.
The aviaries at seven of Maryland’s state parks where a variety of raptors, including owls and hawks, are kept are enacting restrictions.
Sarah Milbourne, a Maryland State Park ranger who serves as the coordinator for the Scales and Tales program, told WTOP, “We have gone from our normal operating of Phase I into a Phase II” which she explained, ” restricts any sort of visitation into sort of the closer areas of our aviary.”
Visitors will still be able to view the aviaries from a distance, but walkways near the aviaries are closed off for now.
The Scales and Tales program allows visitors to get an up-close look at raptors who serve as “ambassadors” in public education programs.
Milbourne said if the parks move to a Phase III, that would include staff wearing masks and even protective suits when in and around the aviaries to protect the birds in their care from possible exposure to the virus.
Milbourne said currently the concern is focused on “the health of our agriculture industry and our wild birds.”
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