Probable avian influenza has struck two more Minnesota poultry farms, two Iowa turkey operations, and a small poultry flock in Nebraska, according to agriculture departments in the two states.
In addition, Nebraska officials reported that an outbreak reported earlier on a big chicken farm may not be one after all, as further testing has not confirmed it.
Minnesota incidents
In Minnesota, both affected farms are in Renville County in the southwestern part of the state, increasing the county's outbreak count to eight, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) reported. One farm houses 415,000 young chickens, not yet laying eggs, and the other is a turkey operation for which the flock size is not yet available.
The two outbreaks are listed as presumptive positives, the DPS said, meaning an H5 or H7 virus has been identified, with confirmation by the US Department of Agriculture awaited. All outbreaks confirmed so far have been H5N2 incursions.
Renville is a southern neighbor of Kandiyohi County, the state's leading turkey producing area and hardest-hit county, with 39 outbreaks.
The two events raise the tally of affected Minnesota farms to 106 in 23 counties, with 8.87 million birds, not counting farms where birds are still being counted.
Iowa and Nebraska outbreaks
The new Iowa outbreaks involve a Sac County farm with an estimated 40,000 turkeys and a Hamilton County operation with about 19,600 turkeys, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) reported. Hamilton County is north-central, and Sac lies a few counties to the west.
Both flocks had increased mortality, and initial tests showed an H5 virus, with confirmation by the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) lab in Ames, Iowa, awaited, the IDALS said. Sac County has now had eight avian flu outbreaks and Hamilton has had three.
Overall, Iowa has logged 73 avian flu outbreaks, with 62 confirmed, affecting 29.1 million birds, according to IDALS data.
The new Nebraska outbreak involves a mixed flock of fewer than 100 birds, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) said in a weekly update posted late yesterday. The event marks the fourth outbreak in Dixon County in northeastern Nebraska, where the previous outbreaks all involved large chicken farms.
The NDA listed the new outbreak as a presumptive positive and said the flock was tested because the site is within 6.2 miles of the other Dixon County outbreaks.
Earlier outbreak not confirmed
The NDA also revealed that a probable outbreak reported last week in Knox County, about 50 miles west of the Dixon County sites, has not been confirmed by further testing. It involves a farm with 3 million laying chickens.
"This facility remains a suspect flock and will remain under quarantine and continue to undergo regular testing," the NDA said. "In consultation with USDA, it has been determined that the site will require 21 days of negative testing before the quarantine can be released."
Twenty-nine Knox County farms have been quarantined because of the apparent outbreak, but testing of those flocks is on hold because of a lack of USDA confirmation of that event, the agency said. The farms will remain under quarantine for now.
The Knox County farm is owned by the same operator who owns the first three farms hit by avian flu in Dixon County, according to previous NDA statements. The original announcement of the Knox event did not say whether there was increased mortality in the flock.
Nebraska has had five outbreaks in all, counting the unconfirmed Knox County one, affecting about 7 million birds.
See also:
Jun 3 Minnesota DPS statement
Jun 3 IDALS statement
IDALS page with cumulative numbers
Jun 2 NDA update
