A case of highly pathogenic avian flu in Minnesota was confirmed Tuesday at a Redwood County commercial turkey farm. It’s the first confirmed case in the state since April.
The case was not unexpected as the fall migration of wild birds has begun, but it comes just weeks after Minnesota was declared free of avian influenza at the end of August. This detection resets Minnesota’s response teams and will draw responders back into the fight against the costly avian influenza this fall, according to a Minnesota Board of Animal Health news release.
The Redwood County flock, around 20,000 turkeys, showed signs of increased mortality. Samples taken Sunday and submitted to the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory on Monday tested PCR positive for influenza A and the H5 strain.
Molecular testing is a diagnostic tool that looks for the presence of the virus in the bird. Positive influenza results indicate the bird is infected and shedding virus. The USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, confirmed the results and will run further tests on the sample to classify the virus type, according to the news release.
“Though we remain hopeful that we can eliminate HPAI in Minnesota’s poultry stock, this case was not wholly unexpected as we move into the migration season for wild waterfowl,” Dr. Shauna Voss, assistant director of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, said in the news release. “Vigilance and robust biosecurity remain the best methods for flock owners to protect poultry from avian influenza.”
The board calls on poultry producers to review their biosecurity plans to maintain flock health.
Avian influenza has also been recently confirmed in commercial turkey flocks in North and South Dakota and a backyard chicken flock in North Dakota.
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