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Board of Animal Health updates HPAI response as Minnesota reaches nearly 9.9 million depopulated birds
Summary
State staff briefed the Board of Animal Health on high‑path avian influenza response operations: 210 affected premises across 53 counties, nearly 9.9 million birds depopulated since the outbreak began, composting/disposal and virus‑elimination timelines, and new USDA biosecurity audit requirements for restocking.
Minnesota animal‑health officials told the Board of Animal Health that the state has recorded 210 high‑path avian influenza (HPAI) detections across 53 counties and has depopulated roughly 9.9 million birds since the outbreak began.
Program staff outlined the detection‑to‑response timeline: producers or veterinarians report sick birds via the state hotline or online form; samples are routed to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for PCR screening and presumptive positives are forwarded to the national reference laboratory for confirmation. Once confirmed, officials said, quarantine is established immediately and a case manager—assigned by the board or USDA—helps producers through inventory, indemnity paperwork and operational steps.
Staff described on‑farm virus‑elimination procedures: construction of compost piles for carcass disposal (used in about 99% of Minnesota cases), temperature verification, a scheduled two‑week pile turn and environmental sampling after disinfection. That sequence establishes the initial virus‑elimination date that begins the clock for control area timelines and the eligibility for restocking, officials said.
The state also detailed new USDA expectations for restocking: producers must pass a written biosecurity plan review and an on‑site verification audit under the PCAP (biosecurity audit) program before being eligible to repopulate. Officials acknowledged implementation challenges, saying audits have yielded inconsistent results across auditors and they are working to standardize review criteria.
Board staff emphasized that many control‑area restrictions remain in place for surrounding farms, including legal surveillance testing and movement controls, and urged producers to use the state website’s tracking dashboard for county‑level case updates. The meeting closed the poultry update by noting a six‑week gap since the last commercial detection and continued close monitoring of backyard flocks and commercial premises.
