The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) in a second commercial turkey flock in Stearns County, Minnesota.
This is the fifth confirmation in a commercial flock in Minnesota. The flock of 71,000 turkeys is located within the Mississippi flyway where this strain of avian influenza has previously been identified. CDC considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low. No human infections with the virus have been detected at this time.
In addition, following the detection of H5N2 avian influenza in a gyrfalcon in Montana earlier this week, the USDA-APHIS has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) in a backyard mixed-poultry flock in Judith Basin County, Montana.
Samples from the flock, which experienced increased mortality, were tested and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
To date, 13 US states have reported HPAI this year: Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Arkansas.
