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CIDRAP Link: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/11/news-scan-nov-24-2021
Low-path H5 avian flu turns up on Minnesota turkey farm
Routine testing in a Minnesota turkey flock turned up low-pathogenic H5 avian influenza, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health (MBAH) said yesterday in a statement. The affected farm is in Kandiyohi County, located about 90 miles west of Minneapolis.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, confirmed the findings. The MBAH said the low-path H5 virus doesn't pose a health risk to the public and isn't the same one that caused highly pathogenic outbreaks in Midwestern poultry in 2015.
Beth Thompson, DVM, the state's veterinarian, said testing birds before they go to market is standard protocol for poultry in Minnesota, a step that ensures that healthy birds are sent to production and that diseases are identified early so producers can manage them.
The turkey flock is under quarantine, and surveillance is under way among backyard and commercial flocks within a 10-kilometer radius.
North American lineage low-pathogenic and highly pathogenic avian flu outbreaks occur in US poultry occasionally and pose a low threat to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In the fall of 2018, low-pathogenic H5N2 was detected at eight Minnesota turkey farms in Kandiyohi and Stearns counties, according to the USDA. California this year has reported four low-path avian flu detections in domestic poultry, including two in October. All were related to spillovers from wildlife, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
Nov 23 MBAH statement
CDC avian flu background
USDA background
CDFA avian flu updates
Low-path H5 avian flu turns up on Minnesota turkey farm
Routine testing in a Minnesota turkey flock turned up low-pathogenic H5 avian influenza, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health (MBAH) said yesterday in a statement. The affected farm is in Kandiyohi County, located about 90 miles west of Minneapolis.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, confirmed the findings. The MBAH said the low-path H5 virus doesn't pose a health risk to the public and isn't the same one that caused highly pathogenic outbreaks in Midwestern poultry in 2015.
Beth Thompson, DVM, the state's veterinarian, said testing birds before they go to market is standard protocol for poultry in Minnesota, a step that ensures that healthy birds are sent to production and that diseases are identified early so producers can manage them.
The turkey flock is under quarantine, and surveillance is under way among backyard and commercial flocks within a 10-kilometer radius.
North American lineage low-pathogenic and highly pathogenic avian flu outbreaks occur in US poultry occasionally and pose a low threat to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In the fall of 2018, low-pathogenic H5N2 was detected at eight Minnesota turkey farms in Kandiyohi and Stearns counties, according to the USDA. California this year has reported four low-path avian flu detections in domestic poultry, including two in October. All were related to spillovers from wildlife, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
Nov 23 MBAH statement
CDC avian flu background
USDA background
CDFA avian flu updates