State officials, chicken industry say annual bird flu activity is a ‘new normal’ for Eastern Shore

By: Danielle J. Brown

Outlets: Maryland Matters

Published: February 23, 2026

Words: 867

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 4 days ago

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The poultry industry can anticipate yearly outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza, known as bird flu, as pockets of the highly contagious respiratory virus keep showing up on chicken farms on the Eastern Shore and in other states each year.

“I find myself talking about this every year now,” Grayson Middleton, with the Delmarva Chicken Association, told Eastern Shore legislators during a virtual meeting Friday.

“So I want to say, unfortunately, this is the …

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