Avian influenza has been confirmed in eight more commercial turkey flocks in Minnesota, bringing the total number of avian influenza cases in the state to 22. The latest round of avian influenza outbreaks, which involved more than a half million birds, was reported by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on April 14.
Each of the eight flocks were confirmed to have H5N2 avian influenza, after tests were conducted at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa.
While some of the new outbreaks occurred in counties that had already had confirmed cases of avian influenza in commercial turkey operations, half of them were the first occurrence of the virus in their respective counties.
The affected flocks are in:
- Kandiyohi County – 30,000 turkeys (fourth detection in the county)
- La Sueur County – 21,500 turkeys (first detection in the county)
- Meeker County – 25,000 turkeys (second detection in the county)
- Meeker County – 20,000 turkeys (third detection in the county)
- Stearns County – 76,000 turkeys (fifth detection in the county)
- Swift County – 160,000 turkeys (first detection in the county)
- Swift County – 154,000 turkeys (second detection in the county)
- Redwood County – 56,000 turkeys (first detection in the county)
To date, avian influenza has been reported in 16 states and two Canadian provinces since first appearing in British Columbia in late 2014.
