MINNEAPOLIS — Bird flu has returned to the Midwest earlier than authorities expected after a lull of several months, with the highly pathogenic disease being detected in two commercial turkey flocks in western Minnesota and a hobby flock in Indiana, officials said Wednesday.
The disease was detected after a farm in Meeker County reported an increase in mortality last weekend, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health said. The flock was euthanized to stop the spread. The board later reported that a second flock in the county tested positive Tuesday evening.
They were the first detections of avian influenza in Minnesota since May 31, when a backyard flock was struck in Becker County. Indiana’s case was its first since a backyard flock there tested positive June 8, which had been the last detection in the Midwest before this week.
In Minneapolis The highly virulent disease has been found in two commercial turkey flocks in western Minnesota and a hobby flock in Indiana, officials announced Wednesday. This marks the return of bird flu to the Midwest earlier than experts had anticipated following a hiatus of many months.
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced that the disease was found after a farm in Meeker County reported an increase in mortality over the last weekend. To stop the infection, the flock was put to death. A second flock in the county tested positive on Tuesday evening, according to a later notification from the board.
They were the first cases of avian influenza discovered in Minnesota since May 31, when a small flock in Becker County was infected. Since a backyard flock there tested positive, Indiana’s case was the state’s first. June 8,
he Indiana State Board of Animal Health reported that a small hobby flock of chickens, ducks and geese in northern Indiana’s Elkhart County tested presumptively positive on Tuesday, though final confirmation from a federal lab was pending.
Across the country, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 414 flocks in 39 states have been affected since February, costing producers over 40 million birds, mostly commercial turkeys and chickens. The disease has struck 81 Minnesota flocks this year, requiring the killing of nearly 2.7 million birds.
Minnesota produces more turkeys annually than any other state.
This year’s outbreak contributed to a spike in egg and meat prices, and killed an alarming number of bald eagles and other wild birds. It also affected some zoos. It appeared to be waning in June, but officials warned then that another surge could take hold this fall.
The disease is typically carried by migrating birds. It only occasionally affects humans, such as farm workers, and the USDA keeps poultry from infected flocks out of the food supply. A widespread outbreak in 2015 killed 50 million birds across 15 states and cost the federal government nearly $1 billion.
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