06.03.2015

Highly pathogenic H5N2 strain of avian influenza has been found in a Minnesota commercial turkey breeder replacement flock.
The population of a commercial turkey barn was decimated in a matter of days - from a flock of 15,000 to fewer than 100.
It's the same strain that's been confirmed in backyard and wild birds in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the finding in Pope County, in western Minnesota, is the first appearance of the highly pathogenic H5N2 strain in the Mississippi flyway. Minnesota is the nation's top turkey producer, with industry groups claiming to produce some 46 million turkeys each year worth around $750 million. About 8 percent of that production, or $92 million worth, was exported in 2013. Health officials said there were four barns on the property - two for raising turkeys and two for laying eggs - and only one of the poultry raising barns experienced the severe mortality.