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Information for Health Care Providers
Maine CDC Health Advisory
February 23, 2022
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Guidance and Recommendations
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) in a backyard bird flock in Knox County. This is the first time Maine has detected HPAI in the State. Though HPAI can cause illness in humans, no human cases with this specific viral strain have been detected in the United States to date.
Healthcare providers evaluating patients with respiratory symptoms should ask about recent exposures to wild and domestic birds and should consider influenza infection, including HPAI infection, as a possibility. Respiratory specimens collected from individuals with symptoms of influenza-like illness and bird exposures should be sent directly to Maine's Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL) for influenza testing.
