The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed the presence of H5N2 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in additional commercial turkey flocks in South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

USDA said its National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed HPAI H5N2 in the following states and counties:

* Roberts County, S.D. (66,600 turkeys);

* Kandiyohi County, Minn. (30,000 turkeys);

* Stearns County, Minn. (76,000 turkeys);

* Otter Tail County, Minn. (21,000 turkeys);

* Roseau County, Minn. (26,000 turkeys), and

* Barron County, Wis. (126,700 turkeys).

The affected premises have been quarantined and the premises and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flocks will not enter the food system.

Since the beginning of the HPAI H5 outbreaks, USDA has been committed to transparency in announcing these detections. Delivering factual, timely information is a priority for USDA.

Because more detections are expected during the Spring migration, USDA announced it will streamline its announcements through daily GovDelivery messages as well as continue posting the new cases on the APHIS website.

In the event of HPAI H5 detections in a new state and/or new flyway or detections of new strains, USDA will issue only a stakeholder announcement and post the findings on its avian influenza website.

For more information about the ongoing avian influenza disease incidents visit the APHIS website. More information about avian influenza can be found on the USDA avian influenza page. More information about avian influenza and public health is available on the CDC website.