09/10/2025
Preliminary Testing Confirms Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Third Anne Arundel County Backyard Flock in 2025
HPAI SITUATION UPDATE: September 10, 2025
A backyard flock in Anne Arundel County, MD has tested presumptive positive for H5 avian influenza at the Frederick Animal Health Laboratory, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. Additional samples have been sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) for further confirmation. This is the third case in Anne Arundel County in 2025.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture has quarantined the affected premises, and the birds on the property are being depopulated to prevent the spread of disease. Birds from the affected flock will not enter the food system.
All announcements and pertinent information regarding the HPAI situation in Maryland will be posted at www.mda.maryland.gov/avianflu. This is the second detection in Anne Arundel County following a detection in March.
BACKGROUND
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 from flock to flock, including flocks of wild birds, through contact with infected poultry, equipment, and the clothing and shoes of caretakers. This virus affects poultry, like chickens, ducks, and turkeys, and some wild bird species, such as ducks, geese, shorebirds, and raptors.
IF YOU HAVE SICK POULTRY OR EXPERIENCE INCREASED MORTALITY
Commercial poultry producers should follow the protocol of notifying the company they grow for when they notice signs of disease.
Maryland backyard flock owners who notice any of the signs of HPAI in their flock should email the email the Maryland Department of Agriculture Animal Health team at [email protected] or [email protected] or by calling 410-841-5810. Please be prepared to provide your contact information, size of flock, location, and concerns. Do not take dead or sick birds to a lab to be tested to move them off-site.
As a reminder, backyard flock owners are required to register their flocks with the Maryland Department of Agriculture to assist in protecting Maryland’s poultry industries from diseases such as HPAI.
How to register?
Complete the Maryland Poultry Premises Registration Form
Email the form to [email protected]
Mail the form to 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21401
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to assess that the current H5N1 bird flu risk to the general public remains low. People with job- or recreation-related exposures to infected animals are at increased risk, especially when those exposures happen without the use of appropriate personal protective equipment. Additional information for workers exposed to H5N1 bird flu is available here.
Additionally, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources urges waterfowl hunters to take safety precautions to prevent the spread of the virus by washing hands and clothes after handling game and using dedicated clothing, boots, and tools for cleaning game that are not used around domestic poultry or pet birds. Individuals who encounter a dead wild bird should call USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which is coordinating collection and disposal efforts with the Department of Natural Resources, at 1-877-463-6497.
https://news.maryland.gov/mda/bird-flu/2025/09/10/preliminary-testing-confirms-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-in-third-anne-arundel-county-backyard-flock-in-2025/
Preliminary Testing Confirms Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Third Anne Arundel County Backyard Flock in 2025 September 10, 2025 HPAI SITUATION UPDATE: September 10, 2025 A backyard flock in Anne Arundel County, MD has tested presumptive positive for H5 avian influenza at the Frederick Animal H...
