Renville gets first case of bird flu

RENVILLE - The first case of bird flu has been detected in Renville County.
On top of that, there are three more cases in Kandiyohi County and two more in Swift County.
According to a report Monday from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, eight new flocks have tested positive in the state for the H5N2 highly pathogenic avian influenza.
There are now 80 affected flocks in 21 Minnesota counties with well over 5 million birds either killed by the virus or euthanized because of exposure to the bird flu.
That figure does not include flocks where test results are pending, the board said in the news release.
The most recent report includes a flock of 12,900 turkeys in Renville County.
This is the first farm in Renville County where the virus has been found.
There are now 29 cases in Kandiyohi County, including one farm that has 89,200 turkeys and another farm that has 11,200 turkeys.
According to the report issued on Monday, Kandiyohi County also has a farm where barns are being cleaned and disinfected because of exposure to potentially infected birds.
Two more cases of the avian flu were also detected in Swift County, bringing the total there to five farms. One flock in the latest report includes 46,200 turkeys. The number of birds for the other case was still unknown but was expected to be reported later.
In the southern part of the state, the bird flu was detected at a chicken farm in Nicollet County that affected 1.1 million chickens. This was the first case reported in that county.
Also on Monday, a second case was reported in Pipestone County, with 72,200 turkeys affected in this latest case.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Natural Resources has reached its goal of collecting 3,000 wild waterfowl samples from around the state.
More than 2,700 test results have been received so far and none have so far tested positive for H5N2.
No hunter-harvested wild turkeys have tested positive for H5N2. One wild bird carcass, a Cooper’s hawk, has tested positive.
A Minnesota Farm Assistance Network - 877-898-6326 - has been established to provide referral service for financial assistance, legal services, basic needs and mental health counseling.