Avian Flu Detected in Le Sueur County Backyard Flock
St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - The bird flu blamed for a nationwide spike in egg prices has been detected in Minnesota for the first time this year.
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health today confirmed that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was found in a backyard flock in LeSueur County. The confirmation came from the US Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Iowa.
“We were fortunate to get a reprieve from the virus during the past few months,” said Senior Poultry Veterinarian, Dr. Shauna Voss. “We’ve been anticipating the return of the virus and are recalling our partner resources back to the fight. We continue to call on anyone who owns birds to stand up their biosecurity, especially during these next couple months.”
State officials say the site is quarantined and the affected backyard flock has been destroyed in hopes of containing the spread of the virus. Before the LeSueur County case, the most recent detection in Minnesota occurred last December in Redwood County, where it was also found in a backyard flock.
According to the USDA website, more than 58 million birds have been killed in the US as a result of an outbreak of the bird flu that began last year.
Officials say the outbreak does not pose a significant threat to humans.
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