Delaware wildlife officials have raised a red flag for poultry producers after confirming a presumptive positive test for H5 avian influenza in local snow geese populations. In an announcement made by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA), samples taken from snow geese in Sussex County on December 27 have indicated the presence of the virus, triggering the state to activate a Joint Information Center to coordinate response efforts.
These latest presumptive positive cases in the migratory geese marks the first in the Delmarva region since May 2022 when similar H5 avian influenza was identified in black vultures in Maryland.
Public health officials are advising extreme caution, cautioning residents against handling sick, injured, or dead birds, and highlighting the importance of keeping pets and children away from potential exposure to the virus; they emphasize that while incidents of humans contracting H5N1 remain rare and it has not been known to spread between people, the proper cooking of poultry and eggs is still an essential precaution.
Even though avian influenza continues to make its rounds among wild birds, domestic poultry, and occasionally dairy cattle, health surveillance of those in direct contact with infected animals has shown a consistently low risk to public health.
