ST. PAUL — A case of highly pathogenic avian flu in Minnesota was confirmed on Sept. 16 at a Redwood County commercial turkey farm. It's the first confirmed case since April in the state.
The case was not unexpected as the fall migration has begun, but it comes just weeks after Minnesota was declared free of avian influenza at the end of August. This detection resets Minnesota’s response teams and will draw responders back into the fight against avian influenza this fall, according to a Minnesota Board of Animal Health news release.
The Redwood County flock, around 20,000 turkey toms, showed signs of increased mortality. Samples taken Sept. 14, 2025, and submitted to the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory on Sept. 15 tested PCR positive for influenza A and the H5 strain. Molecular testing is a diagnostic tool that looks for the presence of the virus in the bird. Positive influenza results indicate the bird is infected and shedding virus. The USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, confirmed the results and will run further tests on the sample to classify the virus type, according to the news release.
"Though we remain hopeful that we can eliminate HPAI in Minnesota's poultry stock, this case was not wholly unexpected as we move into the migration season for wild waterfowl," said Dr. Shauna Voss, Assistant Director of the Board, in the news release. "Vigilance and robust biosecurity remain the best methods for flock owners to protect poultry from avian influenza."
The Board calls on poultry producers to review their biosecurity plans to maintain flock health. Information about biosecurity can be found on the Board’s biosecurity page (https://www.bah.state.mn.us/biosecurity/).
Detections of HPAI in Minnesota are posted on the Board’s HPAI page https://www.mn.gov/bah/hpai.
Producers are encouraged to watch for and contact a veternarian if they see the following symptoms in any size flock:
Decrease in feed or water intake.
Swelling or purple discoloration of head, eyelids, comb, wattle, and hocks.
Decrease in egg production.
Sudden, unexplained death.
Extreme depression.
Very quiet.
Difficulty breathing.
North Dakota and South Dakota cases
The most recent cases of HPAI in North Dakota occurred in the first weeks of September. They include the following:
A commercial turkey flock of 41,000 birds in LaMoure County on Sept. 10.
A backyard chicken flock in Dickey County on Sept. 8.
A commercial turkey flock of about 60,300 birds in Dickey County on Sept. 4. Both LaMoure and Dickey counties are near the South Dakota border. These were the first reports since May 2025 of HPAI in North Dakota flocks.
Meanwhile South Dakota has also seen a spike in cases, with eight affected commercial flocks as of Sept. 17, including a commercial turkey flock of 53,000 in Beadle County on Sept. 16; 70,100 in McPherson County on Sept. 13; 44,500 in Jerauld County on Sept. 11; and flocks of 74,100 on Sept. 10, and 42,300 on Sept. 9, both in Beadle County. Other commercial turkey flocks had confirmed cases on Sept. 4 in McPherson County; Sept. 2, in Beadle County; and Aug. 28, in Faulk County.