News

Biosecurity re-emphasized amid news of avian flu detection

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health says the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a Tennessee commercial poultry flock serves as a strong reminder that biosecurity is a year-round responsibility.

In a press release, state veterinarian Dr. Beth Thompson acknowledged the potential risk of the disease spreading to Minnesota because the incident was located in the Mississippi flyway.

Minnesota Chicken and Egg Association executive director Steve Olson says although this strain is different from the virus that spread two years ago, one similarity is the effect on older birds.

“These are breeder birds, so these birds were 30 weeks old and 45 weeks old.  And one of the things that we had seen with the virus before was that it tended to affect older birds, and so it didn’t affect the really young ones.”

Olson also directs the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association and tells Brownfield elevated testing protocols began a few weeks ago.

“Which means that we’re testing more often and we’re also testing in the barns, especially in the case of turkeys.  We’re testing the drinkers, because that’s one thing that the University of Minnesota has done some research in and learned that we can pick up the virus before even clinical signs start to show up.”

The Board of Animal Health recommends poultry producers keep animals in a secure area, control vehicle traffic on the farm, and immediately separate sick birds from healthy birds.