On 6 April, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) in a third commercial turkey flock in Stearns County, Minnesota and the first in Kandiyohi county.

The Stearns county outbreak was in a commercial flock of 76,000 turkeys, located within the Mississippi flyway where this strain of avian influenza has previously been identified.

On the same day, APHIS confirmed the presence of H5N2 HPAI in a moulting breeder replacement turkey flock in Kandiyohi county. This is the seventh confirmation in a commercial flock in Minnesota. The flock of 26,000 turkeys is also located within the Mississippi flyway.

As part of the response protocol, samples from both flocks were tested by the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory as part of standard surveillance work. The APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa confirmed the findings.

APHIS is working closely with the Minnesota Board of Animal Health on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined both premises and birds on the properties will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.

The Minnesota Department of Health is working directly with poultry workers at the affected facilities to ensure that they are taking the proper precautions.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low. No human infections with the virus have been detected at this time.

As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165°F kills bacteria and viruses.