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Low-path avian flu detected in Minnesota turkey flock

Low-path avian influenza has been confirmed in a county hit hard during the highly pathogenic avian flu outbreak of 2015.

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health says the H5N2 strain was found in a commercial turkey flock in Kandiyohi County, and stresses this is not the same virus that caused the outbreak three years ago.

The disease was detected during routine surveillance testing of a flock of 10,000 13-week old toms on October 19^th.

The farm includes an additional three barns housing 10,000 birds each, all of which tested negative for avian flu.

The Board is working with all federal, state, and industry partners to prevent the spread of the disease.

Officials say the case of low-path avian flu does not pose a risk to the public, and there’s no food safety concern for consumers.

Kandiyohi County, located in the west-central part of the state, is one of the top turkey-producing regions in the country.  A dozen cases of high-path avian flu were reported there between April and June of 2015, resulting in the loss of nearly one million turkeys.