Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed on October 11 in a commercial turkey flock in Meeker County, Minnesota.
The flock included 115,000 birds, according to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health (MBAH).
Samples were confirmed positive by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa. The site is quarantined, and the birds on the premises were depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease.
“Unfortunately, HPAI seems to keep popping up during the seasonal migrations in Minnesota,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Brian Hoefs. “Before today’s detection our most recent cases were in the spring of this year. Anyone who has poultry should take this detection as a clear sign to keep a close eye on their flock and initiate your strongest biosecurity practices.”
While Hoefs said HPAI had not been discovered in the state since spring, the only cases in 2023 have involved non-commercial flocks. The last time HPAI was confirmed in a commercial was December 12, 2023, in Wadena County. Minnesota closed 2022 with 81 commercial premises affected by HPAI, which resulted in the loss of about 4.2 million birds.
Meeker County was the site of eight HPAI infections in 2022, with the most recent of those being confirmed on September 14, 2022.
After being absent from commercial poultry flocks in the United States since April, HPAI has surfaced in four U.S. commercial turkey flocks in October. Two of those were confirmed in Sanpete County, Utah, while the other was confirmed in Jerauld County, South Dakota.
Between the four premises, a total of 329,100 birds were affected.
Cases of HPAI in commercial poultry flocks have also been reported in recent weeks in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
