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Health
Kirsti Marohn
Brainerd, Minn.

Avian flu detected in Meeker County turkey flock

Turkeys in a barn
A flock of 10-day-old poults, or young turkeys, that were to be moved in about two weeks to restock two central Minnesota turkey farms that were infected with avian influenza in 2022.
Courtesy of Matt Herdering | 2022

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A commercial turkey flock in Meeker County has been destroyed after health officials confirmed it tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The flock of 140,000 birds is the first confirmed case of the virus in Minnesota since last spring.

State officials say it’s likely connected to the seasonal migration of wild birds. Commercial poultry flocks in South Dakota and Utah also recently tested positive for the virus.

“We now can confirm it’s here,” said Michael Crusan, spokesperson for the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. “Now is the time to do your very best at those biosecurity measures, to keep the area where you keep your birds clean, and to keep any potential diseases, viruses, etcetera, out and away from your birds.”

The Meeker County farm is under quarantine, and the birds have been destroyed to prevent the disease from spreading.

“We’re going out there and tackling the case and getting on it right away,” Crusan said. “Because the sooner that we can address these cases, the more we can reduce that risk of anything potentially moving off that farm.”

Poultry farmers, including those with backyard flocks of chickens or ducks, also should watch for signs of disease in their birds. Those can include eating or drinking less, decrease in egg production, extreme depression, difficulty breathing and sudden unexplained death.

Bird flu last year cost U.S. poultry producers nearly 59 million birds across 47 states, including egg-laying chickens and turkeys and chickens raised for meat, making it the country's deadliest outbreak ever, according to USDA figures.