Minnesota Bird Flu Response Cost = $6 Million

St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - Governor Mark Dayton met Monday with top agriculture, health and other officials involved in the state’s response to the ongoing avian flu crisis and announced a 30-day extension to the Peacetime State of Emergency he declared last week.

It is now estimated the cost of the state's response has risen to about $6 million, far above the $900,000 appropriation that’s been included in bills passed by both the Minnesota House and Senate.

National Guard troops began assisting with the response Monday by delivering truck loads of water to turkey farms with confirmed outbreaks of the H5N2 virus. The water is needed to create the foam that is being used to euthanize the millions of turkeys in commercial flocks affected by the illness.

On Monday, state officials announced another six confirmed outbreaks in Chippewa, Kandiyohi and Cottonwood Counties. The total number of turkeys affected by the outbreaks in Minnesota is now estimated at over 3.1 million.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)