Latest: Now seven cases of bird flu in Wisconsin, another flock affected in Barron County

BARRON COUNTY (WITI) -- Another detection of H5 avian influenza has been made in a 108,000 bird turkey flock in Barron County, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection announced Tuesday, April 28th. This is now the seventh case in Wisconsin and the third in Barron County.

While lethal to domestic poultry, the strain of virus detected is not known to have caused disease in humans and is not expected to pose a risk to public health or the food supply.

The property was immediately quarantined and neighboring properties with poultry will be notified about the situation.  Remaining birds will be depopulated and will not enter the food supply.  Following USDA protocols, surveillance and testing procedures will take place at properties near the affected facility to ensure the virus has not spread.

The H5 avian influenza virus was first detected in Wisconsin at a commercial chicken flock in Jefferson County on Monday, April 13th, which led to the depopulation of more than 180,000 egg-laying chickens.

Since then, five additional flocks were detected in Barron, Juneau, Chippewa counties and another in Jefferson bringing the total of birds affected to nearly 1.3 million in Wisconsin.  Multiple outbreaks of avian influenza have occurred most recently in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas, the Dakotas and Kansas leading to the depopulation of nearly 8 million turkeys and chickens.

A ban on poultry movement to shows, exhibitions and swap meets in Barron, Chippewa, Jefferson, and Juneau counties remains in effect.

Wisconsinites are reminded that the avian influenza virus strain currently detected in Wisconsin and the other states presents low risk to public health. Poultry meat and egg products in the marketplace remain safe to eat. As always, both wild and domestic poultry should be properly cooked.

Officials are investigating how the virus entered the flock and may not have answers for some time.  Until then, backyard poultry owners and other poultry producers are encouraged to practice good biosecurity and to take steps that prevent contact between their birds and wild birds. They also should monitor their flock closely and report sick or dead birds to DATCP at 1-800-572-8981.

For more information on avian influenza and biosecurity measures, go to http://datcp.wi.gov/Animals/Animal_Diseases/Avian_Influenza/index.aspx.

OVERALL SUMMARY

Since the confirmed presence of highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Wisconsin, state and federal agencies have been working alongside organization and industry partners to minimize the impact and eliminate the disease. The information below summarizes the current situation.

Latest Information (as of 12:00 p.m. April 28th)

We have confirmed the presence of H5N2 HPAI in the following county(ies):

Current Situation

Total number of farms – 7
Total number of counties – 4

Farms by County/Number of Flocks

Total number of birds affected in Wisconsin – 1,396,856

All affected farms remain under quarantine.