The highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza was confirmed in two turkey flocks in Missouri, the Agriculture Department announced, five days after the same virus was identified in a turkey flock in western Minnesota. The Minnesota and Missouri cases marked the first time the H5N2 strain has been found in the Mississippi flyway. The disease has a high mortality rate among birds but is considered a low risk to human health. In early winter, the H5N2 bird flu was found in the Pacific Northwest.
A USDA official told Reuters that tests were ongoing for a suspected case of H5N2 avian influenza in Arkansas, the No. 3 poultry state. “The infection, if confirmed, threatens to widen trading bans,” said Reuters. When avian influenza is found, farms are quarantined and flocks are killed as a safeguard against spread of the disease.
The USDA said it “continues to communicate with trading partners … to minimize trade impacts.”