Bird flu found in Stearns County dairy herd

A strain of bird flu was confirmed in a dairy herd in Stearns County, according to a news release from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

The virus was found in a dairy sample collected as part of the state’s milk surveillance plan. This herd was also sick in July.

State officials say there’s no concern for the safety of milk sold in stores, as it is pasteurized to kill bacteria and viruses.

The herd will be quarantined until it is no longer infected.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has been conducting monthly tests on raw cow milk collected from each of the 1,600 dairy farms in the state.

In response to the report of bird flu found in Stearns County, Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL — South St. Paul), the co-chair of the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee, issued a statement calling for “added safeguards to address H5N1.”

“The potential disaster of a bigger avian flu outbreak in Minnesota calls for a ‘trust but verify’ approach. While the BAH points out that pasteurized milk kills bacteria and viruses, further testing and monitoring is necessary to protect the public, not to mention the people who work with potentially affected poultry flocks and dairy herds,” Rep. Hansen said. “The unpredictability of federal funding to monitor and address threats like avian flu poses a significant challenge, but Minnesotans deserve additional proactive steps to protect workers and assure trust in our food supply.”