USDA Confirms More Highly Pathogenic H5N2 Avian Influenza in Commercial Turkey Flocks in South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin

USDA Announces New Announcement Protocol in Anticipation of More Detections

WASHINGTON, April 17, 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 commercial turkey flocks in South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.   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 states and counties:

• Roberts County, South Dakota (April 15, 2015)

  • Central Flyway

  • 66,600 turkeys
    
    

• Kandiyohi County, Minnesota (April 15, 2015)

  • Mississippi Flyway

  • 30,000 turkeys

  • 5th detection in the county
    
    

• Stearns County, Minnesota (April 15, 2015)

  • Mississippi Flyway

  • 76,000 turkeys

  • 6th detection in the county
    
    

• Otter Tail County, Minnesota (April 15, 2015)

  • Mississippi Flyway

  • 21,000 turkeys

  • 1st detection in the county
    
    

• Roseau County, Minnesota (April 16, 2015)

  • Mississippi Flyway

  • 26,000 turkeys

  • 1st detection in the county
    
    

• Barron County, Wisconsin (April 16, 2015)

  • Mississippi Flyway

  • 126,700 turkeys

  • 1st detection in the county

The affected premises have been quarantined and the premises 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.

Since the beginning of the HPAI H5 outbreaks, USDA has been committed to transparency in announcing these detections. Delivering factual, timely information is a priority for USDA.  Because more detections are expected during the Spring migration, USDA will streamline its announcements through daily GovDelivery messages as well as continue posting the new cases on the APHIS website.  And In the event of HPAI H5 detections in a new state and/or new flyway or detections of new strains, USDA APHIS will issue only a stakeholder announcement and post the findings on its AI website.

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.

 

 

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