We were saddened to read a Minnesota Board of Animal Health press release this morning, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza confirmed in Meeker County:
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been confirmed in a Meeker County commercial turkey flock. Samples were tested over the weekend at the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory (MPTL) and were confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa Tuesday evening.
Poultry is safe to eat, and proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚ F is always advised. This strain of avian influenza is a low risk to the public.
A Meeker County commercial turkey flock reported an increase in bird mortality last weekend, which led to samples being collected and tested at the MPTL. After a presumptive positive result at the MPTL, the flock was immediately quarantined and has since been depopulated to stop the spread of disease. Poultry from the infected flock will not enter the food system.
“While the timing of this detection is a bit sooner than we anticipated, we have been preparing for a resurgence of the avian influenza we dealt with this spring,” said Senior Veterinarian Dr. Shauna Voss. “HPAI is here and biosecurity is the first line of defense to protect your birds.”
Biosecurity is paramount to stopping the spread of this and other viruses and disease. Flock owners large and small, from commercial operations to backyard flocks, should review their biosecurity measures to maintain the health of their birds. The Board established a 10 kilometer control area around the HPAI infected flock and animal health officials are identifying all premises with commercial or backyard poultry in this area. Commercial flocks will be quarantined and go through routine disease surveillance to make sure the virus isn’t spreading. . . .
A resurgence won't help with food prices as Thanksgiving draws near.
At the West Central Tribune, Shelby Lindrud reports in Minnesota Board of Animal Health says avian flu confirmed in Meeker County turkey flock:
. . . This is the first reported positive case of the disease in Minnesota since May, according to the board. Prior to this Meeker County case, approximately 2.96 million birds had been impacted by the disease, either by infection or depopulation, in Minnesota. . . .
Given that the BAH temporarily banned sales and exhibitions of poultry during last spring's outbreak, we wondered whether this commonsense biosecurity measure would be imposed and impact the Minnesota State Fair.
The Fair exhibitors will be fine due to the planned departure of the birds, Kirsti Marohn reports at Minnesota Public Radio:
. . . Officials for the Minnesota State Fair said they have veterinarians performing regular inspections of the birds who have been exhibiting.
“We continue to closely monitor any updates regarding the impact of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and will follow the recommendations of state officials,” they said in a statement. “Currently the birds who are exhibiting at the fair are only here through tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon and we will not have any more birds arriving because the last four days we exhibit rabbits.“
Let's hope Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 doesn't creep into the Fair. We love the animal barns most of anything at the fair.
Image: Domestic turkeys in a commercial turkey farm barn. Not a picture of the birds that were sick in Meeker County.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6
Comments