Maryland briefs lawmakers on avian influenza response: dairy testing, poultry quarantines and public‑health monitoring

State agriculture and health officials briefed the Health and Government Operations Committee on the state’s response to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), outlining poultry quarantine steps, dairy‑milk surveillance and public‑health monitoring for exposed workers.

Jennifer Trout, Maryland’s state veterinarian, told the committee the state had five commercial poultry cases on the Eastern Shore (two in Caroline County, one in Queen Anne’s County, one in Worcester County) and a backyard flock in Montgomery County; four commercial control areas had been released after depopulation, cleaning and disinfection and the backyard flock had been depopulated and placed in a 120‑day fallow period. “We have 5 commercial cases all on the Eastern Shore,” Trout said.

Trout and Deputy Secretary Steve Connolly described standard response steps used by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA): quarantine the infected premises, humanely euthanize and on‑farm compost infected birds, disinfect and then surveil nearby premises. MDA establishes a control area (about 10 kilometers) and a wider surveillance zone (about 20 kilometers) around an infected premises; birds in those zones must meet testing requirements before movement to slaughter.

Why it matters: officials said HPAI continues to circulate in wild birds and can be transmitted to poultry and in some cases to dairy cattle. The briefing stressed the economic stakes for poultry and dairy producers and public‑health measures to limit any human infections that could arise from close, unprotected exposure.

Dairy and milk testing; interstate restrictions

Connolly said Maryland had not detected HPAI in lactating dairy cattle in the state but noted recent U.S. cases elsewhere. He described a state order requiring negative avian influenza testing for interstate shipments of lactating dairy cattle and said MDA is testing milk at the farm level on a weekly basis to protect the food supply. Jennifer Trout added that MDA and MDH issued a joint order on Dec. 30 requiring mandatory testing of regulated milk in Maryland dairies.

Trout explained that USDA and state partners require testing of birds in control zones before they move to slaughter (two tests in a 48‑hour window, one within 24 hours) and ongoing surveillance of birds in the surveillance zone. She stressed biosecurity for commercial and backyard flocks: foot baths, separate footwear and clothing, hand washing, and restricting access to bird housing.

Public‑health monitoring and testing criteria

Dr. Crum and Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services Nilesh Kalyanaraman described the public‑health approach. Kalyanaraman told the committee Maryland had not detected any human H5 infections to date: “We have had no high path avian influenza or H5 detections in humans to date in Maryland.” He said CDC currently considers the human health risk to the general public to be low because human cases have been linked to prolonged, unprotected contact with infected animals; there has been no sustained human‑to‑human transmission in the U.S.

MDH said it is conducting active symptom monitoring for exposed workers and responders, doing year‑round surveillance of hospitalized influenza cases and equipping local health departments to facilitate testing and access to antivirals when individuals meet clinical or exposure criteria. Crum added that current antivirals remain effective against the strains tested so far.

Food safety guidance

Officials emphasized that properly processed food remains safe: pasteurization destroys the virus in milk and cooking poultry to 165 F renders it safe for consumption. Trout said that hunters who take wild birds should use usual cooking precautions and practice biosecurity — for example, not entering a backyard flock area while wearing hunting clothes or boots.

Economic impact and federal support

Speakers noted poultry’s and dairy’s economic importance in Maryland — historically billions in economic activity — and said depopulation and temporary farm restrictions produce economic losses for affected operations. MDA said USDA has an indemnity program to reimburse losses but some federal reimbursements were on hold pending approvals; the department is coordinating with federal partners and regional incident command partners to secure resources.

Ending

Lawmakers pressed officials about surveillance dashboards, public messaging and federal reimbursement. Agencies said they would continue coordinated surveillance, farmer outreach, and testing and would provide updates to the committee on testing and control‑zone outcomes.