USDA Confirms More Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in Three Flocks in Minnesota and Iowa

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2015 - 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 additional three flocks in Minnesota and Iowa.   No human infections with the virus have been detected at this time.  CDC considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low. 

USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed HPAI H5N2 in the following counties and states:

• Kandiyohi County, Minnesota (April 29, 2015)
  - Turkeys (number pending)
  - 24^th detection in this county
  
• Stearns County, Minnesota (April 29, 2015)
  - 202,500 chickens
  - 12^th detection in this county 
• Buena Vista County, Iowa (April 29, 2015)
  - 50,000 turkeys
  - 2^nd detection in this county

The affected premises have been quarantined and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.

The United States has the strongest AI surveillance program in the world.  As part of the existing USDA avian influenza response plans, Federal and State partners as well as industry are responding quickly and decisively to these outbreaks by following these five basic steps: 1) Quarantine – restricting movement of poultry and poultry-moving equipment into and out of the control area; 2) Eradicate – humanely euthanizing the affected flock(s); 3) Monitor region – testing wild and domestic birds in a broad area around the quarantine area; 4)  Disinfect – kills the virus in the affected flock locations; and 5) Test – confirming that the poultry farm is AI virus-free.  USDA also is working with its partners to actively look and test for the disease in commercial poultry operations, live bird markets and in migratory wild bird populations.

For more information about the ongoing avian influenza disease incidents visit the APHIS website. More information about avian influenza can be found on the USDA avian influenza page. More information about avian influenza and public health is available on the CDC website.