Late Thursday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the presence of H5N2 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a second commercial turkey flock in Stearns County, Minn. This is the fifth confirmation in a commercial flock in Minnesota. The flock of 35,000 turkeys is located within the Mississippi flyway where this strain of avian influenza has previously been identified, APHIS said. State officials quarantined the affected premises and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.
APHIS also confirmed the presence of H5N2 HPAI in a backyard mixed-poultry flock in Judith Basin County, Mont. The premises has been quarantined and birds on the property will be depopulated, APHIS said.
