Minnesota has declared a state of emergency as multiple strains of avian flu destroyed the farm.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) said in a press release that the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Rural Finance (RFA) committee established an emergency after three outbreaks.
They include avian metapnemovirus (AMPV), highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), and H5N1 influenza virus.
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Due to the emergency, according to the sources above, Minnesota farmers who have experienced livestock losses will have access to funds through a zero disaster recovery loan.
Fran Milon will feed cows on a farm in Hugo, Minnesota on September 5, 2019. Minnesota has declared a state of emergency as multiple strains of avian flu destroyed the farm. (Washington Post via Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)
A spokesman for the MDA confirmed in Fox News Digital that the declaration is “a form that the Rural Finance Board must obtain to open a disaster recovery loan program for farmers.”
“The declaration has no further impact and will not affect other funds or programs.”
According to the MDA, the loan program will fund uninsured expenses, such as swarms and livestock exchanges, improvements, and loss of revenue from the outbreak of animal disease.
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Minnesota Agricultural Commissioner Tom Petersen wrote in a statement that this was “an important step in supporting Minnesota farmers affected by these three animal health disorders.”
“I encourage people facing livestock losses to explore these zero-profit loans,” he added.
According to the MDA, metapnemovirus (AMPV) in birds is a “highly infectious respiratory disease” that can cause “significant immunosuppression” in birds, as well as secondary infections and high mortality .
USDA workers will disinfect workers amid avian flu outbreaks on April 30, 2015 at Jenny O'Turkey Farm in Eden Valley, Minnesota. (Glenstab/Startribune via Getty Images)
Since April 2024, Minnesota has reported a positive 871 AMPV test, a “probably an undercount,” health officials said.
HPAI is a contagious, viral and fatal disease — also poses a “major threat” to the poultry industry, the MDA reported.
Minnesota has confirmed 185 HPAI cases since March 2022, affecting 9.1 million domestic birds, mainly turkeys.
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H5N1, also known as avian flu or avian flu, causes the same virus as chicken with HPAI, but can affect dairy cows and other animals as well.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, avian flu strains have also spread to humans, including Nevada dairy workers who were infected with the new type (D1.1) last week.
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Sam Scarpino, director of AI and life sciences and professor of health science at Northeastern University in Boston, previously said he considers the ongoing US avian flu outbreak “severe.” .
Avian flu cases have risen in the US, infecting some people. (istock)
“There are currently at least two different strains of H5N1 that have infected dairy cows, chicken and humans (similar to the variant if you're discussing covid-19,” he told Fox News Digital. “The situation with H5N1 in the US continues to get worse and not good.”
Scarpino shared approval of Dr. Gerald Parker's recent choice to run the White House office of pandemic preparation and response policies.
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“His appointment shows that the federal government is giving necessary attention to the situation in H5N1,” he said.
“This H5N1 outbreak must be managed in terms of both the agricultural costs of the building and the continued risk of human infection.”
