ROCHESTER — Extra precautions are in place for some livestock headed to county fairs in Minnesota, including the Olmsted County Fair, which begins Monday, July 22. "Of all the species that come, it's expected that all of them will only come as healthy animals," said Dr. Cindy Wolf, veterinarian for the Olmsted County Fair.
The caution comes from the spread of the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as bird flu. It's a contagious disease that can spread among wild and domestic birds, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health. The disease is typically fatal for birds, and farmed flocks that test positive for the virus are usually culled to prevent the spread of the disease.
Bird flu has gained more attention in 2024 because of the H5N1 strain's jump to cattle and humans. In March, a Minnesota goat tested positive for H5N1, the first detection of the disease in U.S.
livestock. Days later, the U.S.
reported its first cases in dairy cows. To date, 156 dairy herds in 13 states, including Minnesota, have been affected by H5N1. Since then, four U.
S. residents have contracted the bird flu virus after working with dairy cows. Four poultry workers in Colorado also tested positive for the virus this month.
ADVERTISEMENT "It is still considered low risk to the public," said Dr. Katie Cornille, a senior veterinarian at the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. "But just this year, with it existing and having cases in Minnesota in both poultry and dairy ca.