HALESWORTH, UNITED KINGDOM – FEBRUARY 06: Battery hens sit in a chicken shed on February 6, 2007 in Suffolk, England. Russia, Ireland, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and South Africa have announced bans on UK poultry imports after the news that the Bernard Matthews poultry processing farm in the UK confirmed an outbreak of the H5N1strain of bird flu. A massive cull of over 160,000 turkeys has been completed by Government appointed vets. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
A highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected for the first time in Maine, federal officials said Sunday.
State officials quarantined the property in Knox County and the backyard flock will be eliminated to prevent the spread of the disease, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The virus is often spread to domestic poultry by infected wild birds.
U.S. surveillance efforts have identified the virus in wild birds in a number of states including New Hampshire, where it was detected this month in 20 wild ducks.
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Bird owners should prevent contact between their birds and wild birds and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to state or federal officials.
The avian flu represents no immediate public health concern, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No human cases have been detected in the United States.
