ROCHESTER, Minn. — Wildly contagious bird flu has been identified in a backyard flock in Olmsted County. The state Health Department was not specific about the location. The mandated procedure is to slaughter flocks immediately to minimize the spread. Past waves of the disease have wiped millions of turkeys and chickens and devastated the U.S. poultry industry. The biggest Minnesota outbreak in the current wave was in a commercial turkey operation near Litchfield. Some 223,000 turkeys were euthanized. The largest 2024 outbreak, also near Litchfield, involved nearly 1.4 million chickens. The disease is a global issue. It’s transmitted through droppings from migrating birds. Migrant flocks, including Canada geese, have in fact been decimated. Even with those losses, it doesn’t many droppings to contaminate a commercial or backyard flock. Southeast Minnesota outbraks so far in 2024 included a backyard flock in Houston County and a commercial turkey operation in Fillmore County with 28,000 sickened birds.
Global issue. Migratory flyways honor no national borders nor other human constructs like the Western, Eastern, Northern or Southern hemispheres. Image: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Bird flu profile
The disease has made trans-species transfers to cattle but is rare among humans. Human cases have been only with farm workers who handle chickens. The major human impact has been financial. Diminished commercial flocks drive up prices for poultry products including also eggs. As a precaution, people are encouraged to cook bird products and eggs thoroughly.