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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Top state officials say federal help is on the way to assist in Minnesota’s response to the bird flu being discovered in several turkey flocks.
Over the weekend, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced two infected flocks. One is a commercial turkey flock in Meeker County with 289,000 birds. The other is a backyard flock in Mower County with chickens, ducks, and geese.
Jennie-O Turkey Store, which is based in Willmar, has also said that one of its farm operations in Minnesota confirmed the bird flu.
On Monday, Gov. Tim Walz said that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is sending an emergency response team to the state. The team will help with the state’s disease control and containment efforts of the highly pathogenic aviation influenza (HPAI).
The federal team will support Minnesota’s Agricultural Incident Management Team, which is based in Kandiyohi County.
“Armed with years of preparation for this incident, our state’s Agricultural Incident Management Team is working quickly and decisively to respond to the cases of H5N1 in Minnesota,” Walz said. “Within hours of the first confirmed cases, our Board of Animal Health requested emergency support from the USDA. These federal partners will bring targeted expertise to contain this virus and ensure that our state’s poultry industry remains the strongest in the nation.”
Walz’s office notes that Minnesota is ranked No. 1 in turkey production in the country. The state has over 660 turkey farms and about 40 million turkeys are raised every year.
The highly-contagious virus is spread by wild waterfowl and is leaving poultry owners on high alert. State officials said the end of bird migration in the next month or so will help stop the spread. The virus also can’t survive in the summer heat.
Bird flu is low risk to humans but a high risk to the poultry industry. A 2015 outbreak decimated farms, causing 9 million birds to die and $650 billion in losses.
The federal team will arrive in Minnesota on Wednesday and is expected to be deployed for at least three weeks. More information on HPAI in Minnesota can be found here.
Source: CBS
