The Delaware Department of Agriculture announces the first presumptive positive H5 avian influenza case detected on a Kent County farm this year.
Preliminary testing of a commercial broiler flock in Kent County returned a presumptive positive H5 from the University of Delaware’s Lasher Laboratory in Georgetown.
Additional samples have been sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Services Laboratory for further confirmation.
The state has quarantined the affected premises, the birds on the property are being depopulated to prevent spread of the disease, and will not enter the food system.
Last week, snow geese found at Prime Hook Beach tested presumptive positive and samples were sent out.
The virus affects poultry and some wild bird species, and it can spread from flock to flock through contact with infected poultry, equipment, and the clothing and shoes of caretakers.
All poultry owners are advised to increase their vigilance by limiting, monitoring, and recording any movement of people, vehicles, or animals on or off their farm, and they should only permit essential workers and vehicles to enter their farm.
They should also disinfect any equipment, vehicles, clothes, and footwear that come in contact with their flocks.
If you have any sick poultry or any increase in mortality in your flock, commercial poultry producers should follow the procedures of contacting the company they grow for when any signs of disease are noticed.
If Delaware backyard flock owners notice any signs of avian influenza in their flock, they should email or call the Delaware Poultry Health Hotline, and provide contact information, size of flock, location, and concerns.