After a quiet start to the year with just two confirmed cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the spring in Minnesota, 11 cases were confirmed in October including a confirmed diagnosis on October 25 in a Meeker County turkey flock of over 34,000 birds.
The lull that started in mid-May came to abrupt end when the Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced bird flu had been confirmed in a turkey flock of over 140,000 in Meeker County on October 11.
"Once October came around here, it just started back up again in the beginning of October," says Michael Crusan of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. "We've had quite a few cases since then and it's just kind of back, for the moment, and we're also hoping things like cold weather and the snow that a lot of people saw on the ground might encourage some of those migratory birds to move on, and thus reduce the potential virus that's out there in the environment."
While the infections may look sporadic, Crusan said the peak infections come with migratory patterns in the spring and fall.
On Tuesday bird flu was confirmed at a turkey farm in Iowa’s Buena Vista County located just south of the Minnesota border.
"What this tells other states that may not have been affected yet, is that it's kind of progressing now through the Midwest and there are those different states including Minnesota that have had cases of High Pathogen Influenza, that now is the time to be on their guard and to work with their producers to do the best that they can to keep that virus out of their barn," explains Crusan.
The initial wave of cases in 2022 compared to the initial wave of the devastating bird flu 2015 shows transmission of cases from barn to barn is down, meaning biosecurity measures are working effectively.
"The practice of biosecurity, things like changing footwear, having clean and dirty lines inside and outside the barn, and keeping those things that are outside the barn out, and healthy birds inside the barn in, really did benefit to keep all of those poultry operations healthier," says Crusan.
Any significant bird flu outbreaks can have the effect of increasing costs as we head towards Thanksgiving.
There are currently six Control Areas or Surveillance Zones in Minnesota. In Meeker County there are three. There is one in Becker County near the border with Ottertail County, one in Redwood County and one in Waseca County. The Board of Animal Health tracks cases around Minnesota here.