A UMES researcher is calling attention to seasonal outbreaks of salmonella in backyard poultry, which is on the rise. Some cases are resistant to antibiotics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 184 cases in 31 states to date since Feb. 26, 2026, with illness from salmonella traced to contact with backyard chickens. It includes 53 hospitalizations and one death. A similar outbreak in 2025 accounted for two deaths and 125 hospitalizations out of the 500 cases across all but two states.
Assistant professor of animal science Janak Dhakal is uniquely positioned to lend his expertise based on his research published March 2026 in the Journal of Food Protection. The article is titled “Salmonella in Backyard Poultry: Prevalence, Outbreaks, Trends, Antimicrobial Resistance and Emerging Risks.”
Dhakal shared his findings and discussed ways people, especially those most at risk, can practice biosecurity to keep themselves and others with minimal likelihood of illness. Read the following news articles:
Backyard poultry salmonella outbreak sickens 6 in state
The Baltimore Sun (online/paywall), May 16, 2026. Also, in print May 17, 2026
Drug-Resistant Salmonella Points to Risk of Backyard Poultry
Medscape, April 30, 2026
CDC warns of drug-resistant Salmonella outbreak across 13 US states-Who’s at risk and how it spreads
Financial Express, May 1, 2026
Backyard chickens fuel drug-resistant salmonella outbreak
MedIndia, May 4, 2026
CDC warns of salmonella outbreak linked to backyard chicken flocks
WBOC TV-16 CBS, May 5, 2026
UMES researcher says how to protect against salmonella outbreak
WMDT TV-47 ABC, May 1, 2026
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, gcstephens@umes.edu, 410-621-3850.
