Posted on 01/25/25
| News Source: Maryland Matters
A fourth case of bird flu was confirmed this week on a Maryland chicken farm, but state health and agriculture officials told lawmakers Friday that the situation, while concerning, is still manageable — at the moment.
The remarks came during a briefing for the House Environment and Transportation Committee on Friday, just two days after the latest case was discovered on an Eastern Shore commercial farm.
“We’re concerned, but we feel that we have the ability to respond appropriately to reduce the risk,” Agriculture Deputy Secretary Steven Connelly said after the 45-minute hearing.
Bird flu had not been detected in the state since late 2023, but that changed in January when the Maryland Department of Agriculture announced the discovery of the first case on Jan. 14 on a commercial farm in Caroline County. It was followed by cases on Jan. 16 in a Queen Anne’s County commercial flock, on Jan. 21 on a second farm in Caroline County and Wednesday in Dorchester County, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
After a lull of more than a year, Connelly said that bird flu is “back with a vengeance.”
“We’re currently managing four outbreaks on our Eastern Shore, all caught on premarket testing,” Maryland Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks told the committee. “Since 2022, there have been nine total farms [affected], including backyard farms — so we have to keep in mind that there are, in addition to commercial poultry farms, there are hundreds of backyard flocks.”
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) virus, or more commonly known as bird flu, has been around for years but it has been of particular interest within the past two years as more migratory birds have been infected. It has also been identified in some mammals, raising flags for public health officials about possible human exposure.
Containing the transmission of bird flu is important, said Del. Marc Korman (D-Montgomery), the chair of the committee. State officials said increased transmission could lead to a multitude of problems for the state, from public health concerns to economic and supply chain disruptions.
“It’s a really important regional and national issue,” Korman said at the start of the briefing.
When bird flu is detected on a commercial farm, the property has to undergo quarantine and “depopulation” measures, meaning chickens, usually thousands, will be killed in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
According to the USDA, approximately 635,600 birds in Maryland have been affected by the bird flu outbreak in the last 30 days — all broiler chickens that are bred for meat production.
Rachel Jones, government relations director for the state Agriculture Department, said the economic impact of bird flu on a farm can be significant. She also said it’s difficult to forecast whether an outbreak will affect costs at the grocery.
“It’s hard to predict, but we don’t anticipate that consumers will see significant increase, but we can’t guarantee that either,” she said. “We just don’t know if the cases are going to continue to increase here in Maryland, and if that will trickle down to the consumer.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that the public health risk from consumption of eggs and poultry meat is currently low. But it said people should avoid drinking raw milk, as bird flu has been making its way through dairy cow herds in other states.
Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, deputy secretary for public health services, said that while the human health risk is low, it’s still important to reduce transmission in order to maintain public health.
“As of this week, there have been 67 cases in humans [nationwide], with one fatality in somebody who had a number of health conditions,” Kalyanaraman told the committee. “It’s important to note, the concerns is not just on the food, on the livestock and poultry side, but also on the potential for transmission and potentially mutations that can make this a pandemic — we’ve all lived through one of that, a pandemic, recently.”