Two commercial meat turkey flocks and one commercial breeding tom flock are the most recent instances of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to be confirmed in Minnesota.
According to information from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the presence of the virus was confirmed in the breeder toms on October 17. There were 2,700 birds in the flock, located in Becker County.
The presence of HPAI was confirmed in both commercial meat turkey flocks on October 18. One of those was located in Blue Earth County and involved 12,300 turkeys. The other was located in Redwood County and involved 8,900 birds.
Five commercial poultry flocks have now been affected by HPAI in Minnesota in 2023, with the other two being meat turkey flocks in Meeker County. All instances of HPAI in the state this year have occurred in October, with the first of those confirmed on October 11.
While the number of confirmed cases of HPAI in Minnesota in 2023 remains in the single digits, the number of premises affected by HPAI in 2023 was 81, making it the state with the most sites to have confirmed HPAI cases in commercial poultry during that year.
So far in 2023, the following states have had confirmed cases of HPAI in commercial poultry: Minnesota, Utah, South Dakota, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, California, Iowa, Virginia and Tennessee. However, only South Dakota, Minnesota and Utah have had HPAI infections in commercial flocks since April.
Avian influenza in Canada
While the presence of HPAI remains in Canada, no confirmed cases have been reported in commercial flocks since October 6. However, two backyard flocks in Alberta have been infected since that time, with the most recent of those being confirmed on October 18.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
