HPAI Resources

• Delaware Department of Agriculture
  de.gov/poultry is Delaware's main resource for accurate HPAI information.
• Maryland Department of Agriculture
  Maryland's main resource for accurate HPAI information can be found here.
• Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
  Pennsylvania's main resource for accurate HPAI information can be found here.
• DCA Presentation on HPAI
  This March 11, 2022 presentation [PDF] gives an overview of why HPAI poses significant risk to the chicken community and how growers, chicken companies and allied businesses can work together to defeat the disease.
• USDA 2022 Confirmation Log
  This is USDA's tally of HPAI confirmations in commercial and backyard flocks.
• Control area release FAQ
  This USDA document explains the conditions that need to be met for USDA to lift movement restrictions and permit requirements in a control area around an infected premise.
• Nationwide HPAI cases in commercial flocks
  This map shows the relative incidence by state of confirmed HPAI detections in commercial flocks in 2022. Source and image: USDA APHIS. Map produced on 5/11/22.
  

These are the basic biosecurity principles and practices recommended by the USDA's Defend the Flock resource center:

• Keep visitors to a minimum. Only allow those people who take care of your poultry to come in contact with your birds, this includes family and friends. Keep track of everyone who is on your property at all times. Make sure everyone who has contact with your flock follows biosecurity principles.
• Wash your hands before and after coming in contact with live poultry. In addition to potentially spreading disease from farm to farm or bird to bird, you can also spread germs such as Salmonella that can impact human health. Wash with soap and water (always your first choice). If using a hand sanitizer, first remove manure, feathers, and other materials from your hands because disinfectants will not penetrate organic matter or caked-on dirt.
• Provide disposable boot covers (preferred) and/or disinfectant footbaths for anyone having contact with your flock. If using a footbath, be sure to remove all droppings, mud or debris from boots and shoes using a long-handled scrub brush BEFORE stepping into the disinfectant footbath, and always keep it clean. You should not use the same pair of footwear or the same disposable boot covers to entire more than one chicken house; instead, use different footwear or fresh coverings for each house.
• Change clothes before entering poultry areas and before exiting the property.
  Visitors should wear protective outer garments or disposable coveralls, boots, and headgear when handling birds, and shower and/or change clothes when leaving the facility.
• Clean and disinfect tools or equipment before moving them to a new poultry facility. Before allowing service vehicles, trucks, tractors, or tools and equipment-including egg flats and cases that have come in contact with birds or their droppings-to exit the property, make sure they are cleaned and disinfected to prevent contaminated equipment from transporting disease.; Do not move or reuse items that cannot be cleaned and disinfected.
• Look for signs of illness. Know the warning signs of infectious bird diseases.
• Report sick birds. Commercial poultry producers should follow the procedures of contacting the company they grow for when they notice signs of disease. Backyard flock owners who notice any of the signs of HPAI in their flock should contact:
• In Delaware, email the Delaware Poultry Health Hotline at poultry.health@delaware.gov or call 302-698-4507 and provide your contact information, size of flock, location, and concerns.
• In Maryland, report any unusual or sudden increases in sick birds to the MDA Animal Health Program at 410-841-5810. Commercial chicken growers and backyard flock owners can email questions about the outbreak to MD.Birdflu@maryland.gov.
• In Virginia, report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to the State Veterinarian's Office at 804-692-0601 or vastatevet@vdacs.virginia.gov or through the USDA's toll-free number, 866-536-7593.

For more information about biosecurity practices, including checklists you can follow, visit the Defend the Flock Resource Center.

Disinfection in On-Farm Biosecurity Procedures
University of Maryland Extension has shared this fact sheet, produced by Ohio State University, on appropriate disinfectants for on-farm use, including mixing instructions and cautions in certain applications.

Social media graphics
DDA has created graphics on biosecurity you can share on social media.

USDA APHIS provides indemnity and compensation to producers to remove animals APHIS classifies as affected, suspect, or exposed to diseases of concern, and to eliminate dangerous viruses from the environment. When a farm is identified as a premise with HPAI, a case manager will be assigned to help the producer navigate the indemnity process.

Information on USDA's indemnity process is at this site. Use this table to calculate indemnity values.