Governor Walz, alongside other state leaders, discussed the state’s efforts in responding to avian flu in Minnesota.

The press conference comes a day after the Minnesota Board of Animal Health released a news release stating a strain of bird flu was discovered in a dairy herd in Stearns County.

Gov. Walz took to the podium with Minnesota’s Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen, Minnesota’s State Veterinarian Dr. Brian Hoefs and the Minnesota Department of Health Senior Infectious Disease Epidemiologist Malia Ireland.

Walz reiterated the need to protect agriculture in the state and be ahead of the curve when it came to combating avian influenza.

Commissioner Petersen said Minnesota has been monitoring the virus patterns in the state closely, especially as birds have begun to migrate back into the state.

“We’re watching the migration very closely,” Peterson said. “We know the virus is circulating; it’s just at what strength and where as we look forward.”

State officials said on Wednesday that there’s no concern for the safety of milk or meat sold in stores at this time.

The virus itself, according to Dr. Hoefs said avian influenza often changes and evolves, requiring methods to deal with the virus to change as well.

“In previous years, we’ve been able to rely on the migratory season to allow the virus to migrate along and enjoy some downtime,” Hoefs said. “That has not been the case recently. In the past year, we’ve seen the virus kind of hovering around and sticking around.”

Hoefs said it sitcking around is likely due to migration birds staying longer and the virus being found in residential species.

Still, Hoefs said cases aren’t spiking as they had in previous years, but a small rise was beginning to show in what was normally the “quiet periods” of the flu.

While avian flu is not believed to be in the human population at this time, Hoefs’ biggest concern now is the virus being found in dairy cows.

Avian flu began to show in dairy herds last year, according to Hoefs, who said the virus was unexpectedly detected in a dairy cow herd in Texas last year.

Since then cases have been spotted in other herds across the country, including Minnesota.

Gov. Walz said he wants to reassure Minnesotans that dairy products are safe and that they are just being proactive to ensure avain flu doesn’t get worse and spread to humans.

“There’s so much information that gets out there; we want to make sure it’s the most accurate information,” Walz said. “I do get a little worried this ifnoramtion gets out there and they hear it’s in dairy cattle and they quit buying dairy products. Theres no need to do that.”

If you are a veterinarian and receive reports of clinical signs of avian influenza, call the
Minnesota Avian Influenza Hotline at 1-833-454-0156 or submit a sick bird report online. If it is
after hours or on the weekend, call the Minnesota Duty Officer at 1-800-422-0798.