The widening U.S. bird flu outbreak has made its way to Maryland, which has counted two cases on commercial poultry farms — one in Caroline County and another in Queen Anne’s County — since the start of the year.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging health care workers to accelerate bird flu testing for patients hospitalized with flu symptoms.

The first human death from bird flu in the United States has intensified calls for the government to ramp up efforts to stave off the threat of another pandemic -- particularly ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House.