{"id":29513,"date":"2026-01-07T10:01:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T15:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=29513"},"modified":"2026-01-07T10:23:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T15:23:49","slug":"queen-annes-county-control-area-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2026\/01\/07\/queen-annes-county-control-area-released\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen Anne\u2019s County Control Area Released"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/HPAI-UPDATE.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"27834\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2023\/11\/21\/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-confirmed-in-caroline-county\/attachment\/hpai-update\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/HPAI-UPDATE.png?fit=940%2C788&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"940,788\" 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 UPDATE\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/HPAI-UPDATE.png?fit=300%2C251&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/HPAI-UPDATE.png?fit=760%2C637&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-27834\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/HPAI-UPDATE.png?resize=300%2C251\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/HPAI-UPDATE.png?resize=300%2C251&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/HPAI-UPDATE.png?resize=768%2C644&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/11\/HPAI-UPDATE.png?w=940&amp;ssl=1 940w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif\">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span> <\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif\"><strong>CONTACT<\/strong>:<span class=\"Apple-tab-span\"> \u00a0<\/span>Lauren Moses, 410-841-5889<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif\">Queen Anne\u2019s County Control Area Released<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\"><strong>ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 7, 2026)<\/strong>&#8211; The <strong>Maryland Department of Agriculture<\/strong> has announced the release of the control area within Queen Anne\u2019s County, MD. The previously infected premise remains under quarantine, but all other farms in the former control area, provided they are not located within another active control area, are no longer subject to movement or placement restrictions and are no longer required to conduct enhanced surveillance testing specific to the control area.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Routine HPAI surveillance continues statewide. Farms that placed birds prior to the release of the control area are still required to complete biosecurity audits if those audits have not already been completed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Currently, there are no active control areas on Delmarva; however, this does not mean the threat of HPAI is not present, especially with the migratory season still upon us. Maintaining strong, consistent biosecurity practices remains essential.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\"><b>What Does it Take to Release a Control Area?\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">The following conditions must be met to release a Control Area:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">The infected flock has been depopulated, and the compost piles must be capped.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Initial virus elimination must be completed for the infected premises.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Required surveillance testing for commercial and backyard flocks must be completed. Routine surveillance will continue throughout the state. Even though these control areas have been released, any farm in a control area that did not complete a biosecurity audit and had chicks placed before the control area was closed will still need to do so.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\"><b>If You Have Sick Poultry Or Experience Increased Mortality<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Commercial poultry producers should notify the company they grow for when they notice signs of disease.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">Backyard flock owners who notice any signs of HPAI in their flock should not take dead or sick birds to a lab to be tested or move them off-site. To report any unusual or sudden increases to MDA Animal Health Program at 410-841-5810.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\">For more information on High Path Avian Influenza in Maryland, please visit: <\/span><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size: 12pt\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/Pages\/AvianFlu.aspx\">https:\/\/mda.maryland.gov\/Pages\/AvianFlu.aspx<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2026\/01\/07\/queen-annes-county-control-area-released\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251,"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":[403,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mda-newsroom","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\/29513","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\/251"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29513"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29516,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29513\/revisions\/29516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}