Maryland agencies outline testing, quarantines and milk testing in HPAI response

Officials from the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the Maryland Department of Health told the Health and Government Operations Committee that Maryland has taken coordinated steps to detect and limit spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry, monitor dairy milk for viral RNA, and protect workers and consumers.

Dr. Jennifer Trout, state veterinarian at the Maryland Department of Agriculture, said Maryland has five commercial HPAI cases, all on the Eastern Shore, and one backyard flock in Montgomery County; four of the five commercial operations have had their control areas released after depopulation, cleaning and disinfection. "Our other case in the state is a backyard flock in Montgomery County, and that flock has also been depopulated and is in a fallow period where that person is not allowed to have birds for 120 days," Trout said.

Deputy Secretary Steve Connolly and Rachel Jones, director of government relations for MDA, described five core response steps: quarantine the infected premises, humanely euthanize and remove infected birds, compost on-farm when appropriate, eliminate contamination at the farm, and impose movement restrictions and testing in control and surveillance zones. Connolly noted MDA is coordinating regionally through an interstate incident command and a joint information center including Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Connolly and Dr. Trout said Maryland has not detected HPAI in lactating dairy cattle in-state but is conducting on‑farm bulk-tank milk testing, and the state issued a joint MDA-MDH order on Dec. 30 requiring testing of milk from Maryland dairy farms. Connolly described weekly milk surveillance at the farm level for product that enters commerce; he said neighboring states run similar programs. The agencies emphasized that pasteurization renders milk safe and that raw (unpasteurized) milk poses greater risk if animals are infected.

The agencies said standard biosecurity measures remain the most effective prevention: control measures for commercial producers, advice for backyard flock owners, guidance for hunters to avoid carrying contamination from wild birds, dedicated footwear and clothing, footbaths, hand hygiene, and immediate reporting of unusual bird deaths. MDA said it maintains records for commercial operations and registered backyard flocks (about 8,119 registered noncommercial flocks in Maryland) and said concentrated animal feeding operations and farms with nutrient-management plans are known in MDA records.

On economic impact, MDA officials said poultry contributes billions to Maryland’s economy and that USDA reimbursement is available to indemnify index farms that lose birds, though Connolly said some federal reimbursement elements were administratively delayed and broader risk‑management tools for growers were being pursued in the next federal farm bill. The department said the state's broiler capacity is large (tens of millions) and that managers are working to limit disruptions by releasing control areas as soon as safe and restoring normal flock rotations when possible.

Maryland Department of Health officials said the human health risk remains low to the general public and that, to date, Maryland had not detected H5 infections in people. Dr. Crum (Maryland Department of Health) said CDC has recorded human cases nationally and that Maryland is conducting clinician outreach, hospital lab surveillance for subtyping influenza A specimens, active symptom monitoring of exposed workers and access to testing and antivirals when indicated. The department does not recommend routine asymptomatic testing of exposed workers; testing is targeted to people who meet exposure and symptom criteria.

Officials closed by urging seasonal flu vaccination to reduce the risk of human co-infection and reassortment, encouraging standard biosecurity practices, and asking farmers and hunters to report suspect die-offs to agencies.