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 commercial turkey flock in Kingsbury County, South Dakota.

This is the second confirmation in a commercial flock in South Dakota. The flock of 34,000 turkeys is located within the Central flyway where this strain of avian influenza has previously been identified.

Samples from the turkey flock, which experienced increased mortality, were tested at the South Dakota State University Animal Disease Research & Diagnostic Laboratory and the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa confirmed the findings. NVSL is the only internationally recognized AI reference laboratory in the United States. APHIS is working closely with the South Dakota Board of Animal Health on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the premises and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.

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.

Further Reading

You can visit the Avian Flu page by clicking here.