, , , , ,

Mild Bird Flu Strain Found At Jennie-O Farm In Barron

Second Case Reported At A US Commercial Poultry Operation In 1 Week

By

Turkeys at a Jennie-O farm in Barron County have tested positive for a mild strain of bird flu. The farm is under quarantine, but the turkeys will likely still go to market.

Jennie-O ordered testing after a barn full of turkeys went silent. Last week, results showed the birds had a low-grade H5N2 strain of avian flu.

Raechelle Belli of the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection said the flock of 84,000 turkeys are under quarantine but will not be destroyed.

Stay informed on the latest news

Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“Animal health officials are up there working very closely with the flock owner and some other government agencies to make sure that we minimize the damage to Wisconsin’s poultry industry as a result of this low pathogenic strain of avian influenza,” Belli said.

This strain of low pathogenic H5N2 is not as virulent as the highly pathogenic strain of bird flu that decimated turkey, chicken and other poultry operations across Wisconsin in 2015. Belli said the virus found in Barron this month is more like the common cold.

“Low-path avian influenza is not an uncommon virus to find in poultry flocks and in many cases it tends to cause few, if any, clinical signs of illness in the birds,” said Belli.

After further testing the turkeys at the Jennie-O Turkey Store farm in Barron County will be released for public consumption.