Minnesota poultry industry officials are nervously watching developments overseas as cases of avian influenza are showing up in Europe, Asia and Africa. In 2015 an outbreak of H5N2 devastated turkey and chicken flocks in Minnesota. Dr. Dale Lauer at the University of Minnesota Poultry Testing Lab in Willmar says now is the time to be aware and be concerned…
Lauer says the strains hitting the foreign flocks are not H5N2 but are proving to be deadly. Since the Minnesota outbreak in 2015, a new poultry testing lab was constructed in Willmar which will allow for much-quicker testing for the virus, and thus lead to quicker response…
And Lauer says producers are more aware of better biosecurity measures that need to be taken to protect their flocks. He says different operations have different challenges in terms of things like controlling traffic and controlling risks. Lauer says we learned things that will help this time around, if it happens…
Lauer says the Spring Migration, when wild birds return to Minnesota from their Winter homes, will be starting in a month or so, and the risk of infection or contamination will exist all the way through June and July. There were no cases of avian influenza in Minnesota last year.
Thanks to MNN affiliate J.P. Cola, KWLM – Willmar.