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Avian flu impacting largest turkey producing state

Avian flu has reached the nation’s largest turkey producing state, killing more than 15,000 commercial birds according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. US Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the challenge is to maintain the circumstances when they are discovered through biosecurity measures.

Water birds like ducks and geese carry the avian flu but it doesn’t make them sick, and state officials are testing them to see if they may have brought the virus from the west coast. It isn’t, however, their migration season yet. To protect their own flocks, 40 countries have banned imports of turkeys from Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas and California.  Vilsack says, “Probably 12 to 14 percent of our exports of poultry have been impacted by this, and hopefully the market will be able to absorb that.”

Testing by Minnesota animal health officials last week found no recent deaths related to the disease. On Tuesday, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Mexico is now accepting shipments of some poultry from turkey and chicken producing states, if the products are destined for further domestic processing.