Bird flu has returned to Minnesota, Animal Health Board says

REDWOOD FALLS, MINN. – After a summer free of bird flu infections, a new outbreak at a turkey operation in Redwood County has the state back on alert.

A deadly bird flu has been detected in a commercial turkey flock, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health said this week.

The outbreak marks the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) — which can wipe out entire flocks — in the state’s poultry population since late April, the Animal Health Board said.

A spike in deaths in a commercial flock in Redwood County with around 20,000 turkey toms led to samples being sent to the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory. On Monday, those samples tested positive for influenza A and the H5 strain, the Animal Health Board said.

All 20,000 toms have been destroyed to prevent infection from spreading, said Shauna Voss, assistant director of the board.

Poultry farms within 6 miles of the Redwood County operation have been placed in a quarantine zone, with their birds to be tested weekly, Voss added.

The owners of the Redwood County turkey operation will have to do a multimonth process to make sure the virus is eliminated, she added.

The state had announced a goal of being free of the disease in August, after a summer spent eliminating the virus from quarantined sites.

“This detection resets Minnesota’s response teams and will draw responders back into the fight against avian influenza this fall,” a statement from the Board of Animal Health said.

Wild birds spread the virus to poultry, and some turkey farmers are using lasers to scare off migratory birds.

Bird flu has either killed or forced the culling of more than 9 million birds in Minnesota. Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has paid turkey and chicken farmers more than $2 billion for their losses. State officials said they’re working closely with the USDA on the payments for the turkeys destroyed at the Redwood County operation.

Minnesota is the largest turkey producer in the nation and also a major dairy state.

This year, state officials began monthly testing at Minnesota’s 1,600 cow dairies for H5N1. After testing clear for four consecutive months, the state began reducing the frequency.

There are no plans yet to change how often cows are tested for bird flu, state Ag Commissioner Thom Petersen said Thursday. He added that the state is watching the matter closely, as bird flu was recently discovered in cattle in Nebraska.

“We don’t want to see it in dairy in Minnesota,” Petersen said.

The risk to the public from this virus remains low, state officials said.

People who work with or have direct contact with infected animals or their environment are at most risk for getting sick. Handling infected bird carcasses is the most common way H5N1 spreads to humans.

Nationwide surveillance has confirmed 70 human cases of H5N1, including in one person who died. The cases have largely consisted of agricultural workers, including a poultry farm worker in Wisconsin and another in Iowa, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State officials ask poultry producers and backyard flock owners to check their barns for holes where infected wild birds can enter.

They also ask people to contact their veterinarian immediately if they see any signs or symptoms in their flock:

The board said that anyone can report sick birds on the board’s online sick bird report form.

Detections of HPAI in Minnesota are posted on the board’s HPAI page.