The USDA confirms a second case of highly pathogenic H7N9 avian influenza in Tennessee. This H7N9 strain is North American and NOT the same as the H7N9 strain that impacted people and poultry in China.

The affected flock was a 55,000 bird commercial chicken breeder flock in Lincoln County, Tennessee. It was within the control area of the first infected flock and is located within three kilometers.

All commercial and backyard flock owners should practice good biosecurity and review their plan to ensure proper precautions are being taken. Find biosecurity information on the USDA's website by following this link. Biosecurity is a year-round and shared responsibility.

Click here to read the full USDA press release.

*This photo is from the 2015 Minnesota HPAI response.

The Board and the National Poultry Improvement Plan require all poultry test samples be collected by trained individuals. It's easy to get involved, you can become a trained and certified Authorized Poultry Testing Agent in a single day!

We train APTAs to test poultry for Pullorum-Typhoid (P-T) using the rapid whole blood test. Testing agents can also collect samples for other poultry program disease testing at the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory.

A one-day classroom training session and a one-on-one field instruction training are all it takes for four years of authorization.

The next APTA training course for non-commercial poultry producers will be held on Friday, April 7 at the Hutchinson Event Center in Hutchinson, Minnesota.

The course is 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. with registration starting at 8 a.m.

The course fee is $25, which includes a light breakfast, lunch and all course materials. All registration fees are non-refundable, and you must be 18-years-old to take the class.

Deadline to register is Wednesday, March 29. For questions, please contact the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory at 320-231-5170.

Click this link to open the online registration form.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services’ (APHIS) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa has run out of ChemBio DPP kits to test for tuberculosis (TB) in cervids. The manufacturer predicts DPP test kits will return no earlier than April 2017.

Serum samples can still be submitted to NVSL, and will be frozen and tested once the kits are available. Frozen samples will be tested in order, based on the date the samples were received.

If testing is needed for immediate movement, accredited veterinarians may conduct official single cervical skin tests. Serum samples for herd reaccreditation can still be submitted to the NVSL, and will be frozen. The date the sample is received at the NVSL will be the date used for accreditation purposes, not the date the DPP test is actually performed.

Questions about submitted samples may be directed to Dr. David Kinker, at 515-337-7563. For questions about cervid TB testing related to herd reaccreditation or movement, please contact Dr. Nancy Hannaway, with APHIS’ Veterinary Services Cervid Health Team, at 970-494-7585.

The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) released the equine cases of West Nile virus (WNV) and eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) annual report for 2016.

APHIS works with the CDC and state veterinary public health officials to track and discuss EEE and WNV equine diseases and to confirm cases at the state level.

2016 Summary:

• 116 reported EEE cases
• 377 reported WNV cases in equines

Find a copy of the reports by following this link to the APHIS website.