Minnesota confirms first case of bird flu in dairy herd this year

A Stearns County dairy farm is under quarantine for bird flu after milk testing found H5N1 last week, state officials announced.

It’s the first reported dairy cow infection in Minnesota since last summer and the first detection from a state milk testing program that launched a month ago.

It’s also the second reported bird flu infection to strike the 620-cow Stearns County herd.

“There is no concern for the safety of the public milk supply, as all milk sold in stores is pasteurized to kill bacteria and viruses, and pasteurization has been shown to effectively eliminate active H5N1 virus present in milk,” the Minnesota Board of Animal Health said in a news release.

Officials also stressed the virus still poses a low risk to the general public.

“People who work with or have direct contact with infected animals or their environment are at most risk for getting sick,” the board said in the release.

The state Department of Health is offering farms personal protective equipment to shield workers from virus particles.

Minnesota has not reported any human cases of bird flu. Nationally, H5N1 has sickened 70 people, and one person has died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than half of those cases were from dairy farm exposure.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is testing raw milk from each of the state’s roughly 1,600 dairy operations once a month for H5N1.

“Identifying which dairy herds are infected is important so we can prevent disease spread and protect both animal and human health,” MDA Commissioner Thom Petersen said in a statement.

Minnesota is a major dairy state and also the largest turkey producer in the nation. The highly pathogenic avian influenza has killed more than 9 million birds — mostly turkeys — including those euthanized to prevent its spread since the outbreak began three years ago.

Minnesota poultry operations last reported a bird flu case in early February.