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HPAI confirmed on South Dakota turkey farm

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has been confirmed in a commercial turkey farm in southeastern South Dakota.

USDA’s Animal Health and Plant Inspection Service says this is the first HPAI outbreak in a commercial poultry flock since April.

State veterinarian Beth Thompson tells Brownfield migratory waterfowl have started moving across the country and that’s what likely caused the outbreak.

“This case was in Jerauld County. Bird flu was found in a barn of turkeys and were depopulated.”

The last confirmed HPAI case for South Dakota happened in April at a commercial turkey barn in Beadle County, a neighboring county to the current outbreak. Thompson says USDA is comparing the two viruses, but she is expecting the viruses to be slightly different.

“These viruses aren’t that stable. They’re very non-resistant or they will degrade if they’re exposed to heat and dry weather. I find it difficult to believe it would have survived a South Dakota summer.”

She says poultry producers should continue to implement good biosecurity practices daily to help prevent an outbreak.

“Keep visitors on your farm away from the birds. Make sure there aren’t wild birds around or in the barns. Remove standing water and any food source for those wild birds outside. Check on the rodent control. Cover the litter. Plug any hole. Change your boots and your coveralls,” says Thompson. “Going forward, and because we’re in the fall migration season, it’s really important to make sure veterinarians are involved in those day-to-day activities and for farms to have a second set of eyes to to make sure birds look ok.”

USDA’s APHIS says almost 59 million birds have been affected by HPAI across the country since early 2022. And during that time, Thompson says 4 million birds in South Dakota have been affected by the virus.