8 More Bird Flu Outbreaks

St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - A virulent strain of bird flu continues to spread in commercial poultry flocks in the U.S. and Minnesota remains the hot spot in the outbreak.

The US Agriculture Department confirmed eight additional outbreaks caused by the H5N2 virus at turkey farms in Minnesota on Tuesday. The latest cases affect over 540,000 turkeys. The total was previously a bit over 900,000 turkeys valued at nearly $16 million.

While most of the activity continues to be in western Minnesota, one of the outbreaks confirmed Tuesday involved a commercial turkey flock in Le Sueur County in south-central Minnesota. The other seven outbreaks were located in Kandiyohi, Meeker, Stearns, Swift, and Redwood Counties.