{"id":26245,"date":"2022-01-21T11:48:15","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T16:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=26245"},"modified":"2022-01-21T11:48:15","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T16:48:15","slug":"poultry-farmers-urged-to-practice-enhanced-biosecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2022\/01\/21\/poultry-farmers-urged-to-practice-enhanced-biosecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"Poultry Farmers Urged to Practice Enhanced Biosecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong><i>High Path Avian Influenza identified in Atlantic Flyway<\/i><\/strong><\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_26246\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/HPAI-Jan2022.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-26246\" data-attachment-id=\"26246\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2022\/01\/21\/poultry-farmers-urged-to-practice-enhanced-biosecurity\/attachment\/hpai-jan2022\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/HPAI-Jan2022.png?fit=1600%2C900&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1600,900\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"HPAI-Jan2022\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/HPAI-Jan2022.png?fit=760%2C428&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-26246 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/HPAI-Jan2022.png?resize=300%2C169\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/HPAI-Jan2022.png?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/HPAI-Jan2022.png?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/HPAI-Jan2022.png?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/HPAI-Jan2022.png?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/HPAI-Jan2022.png?w=1600&amp;ssl=1 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-26246\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Edwin Resmberg<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>ANNAPOLIS, MD \u2013 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) is urging all poultry farmers to remain vigilant and practice enhanced biosecurity on their farms after U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed findings of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds\u2014two in Colleton County, South Carolina and one in Hyde County, North Carolina.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe recent findings serve as a timely reminder for all poultry farmers to remain vigilant in their biosecurity practices,\u201d said Secretary Joe Bartenfelder. \u201cThis applies to everyone from commercial poultry growers to backyard flock owners. It is critical that everyone takes proper steps to isolate their birds and wild waterfowl migrating along the Atlantic flyway.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">During this time of year, migratory waterfowl moving through Maryland present a heightened risk for HPAI, which is a potentially devastating disease for poultry operations. HPAI is caused by an influenza type A virus, which can infect poultry (chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quails, domestic ducks, geese, and guinea fowl) and is carried by free flying waterfowl such as ducks, geese and shorebirds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Growers are urged to follow these minimum guidelines to maintain a sanitary, biosecure premise:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Restrict access to poultry by posting \u201cRestricted Access\u201d signage, securing the area with a gate, or both.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Take steps to ensure that contaminated materials on the ground are not transported into the poultry growing house or area.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Provide the following items to anyone entering or leaving any area where poultry are kept:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Footbaths and foot mats with disinfectant;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Boot washing and disinfectant station;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Footwear change or foot covers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cover and secure feed to prevent wild birds, rodents or other animals from accessing it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cover and properly contain carcasses, used litter, or other disease-containing organic materials to prevent wild birds, rodents or other animals from accessing them and to keep them from being blown around by wind.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Allow MDA to enter the premises during normal working hours to inspect your biosecurity and sanitation practices.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Report any unusual bird deaths or sudden increases in very sick birds to the MDA Animal Health Program at 410-841-5810 or after-hours to 410-841-5971. Also contact the USDA at 866-536-7593.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Read up about HPAI and biosecurity measures on the MDA <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/Pages\/AvianFlu.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">USDA APHIS\u2019 website for its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aphis.usda.gov\/aphis\/ourfocus\/animalhealth\/animal-disease-information\/avian\/defend-the-flock-program\/defend-the-flock-program\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Defend the Flock<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> program has many valuable resources available for poultry owners, including a variety of instructional videos, to help mitigate the risk of HPAI on their operation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For more information on avian influenza, please visit the department\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/Pages\/AvianFlu.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"># # #<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Follow Maryland Department of Agriculture on Twitter<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/mdagdept\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">@MdAgDept<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>High Path Avian Influenza identified in Atlantic Flyway ANNAPOLIS, MD \u2013 The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) is urging all poultry farmers to remain vigilant and practice enhanced biosecurity on their farms after U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed findings of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2022\/01\/21\/poultry-farmers-urged-to-practice-enhanced-biosecurity\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[911,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bird-flu","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26245"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26248,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26245\/revisions\/26248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}