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MEEKER COUNTY, Minn. — A commercial turkey flock in Meeker County was confirmed on April 11 to be infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as HPAI or avian influenza, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The Meeker County flock included 70,100 commercial turkeys.

This is the first outbreak of avian flu in a commercial poultry flock in 2024. The last case in Minnesota was confirmed on Dec. 27, 2023, when 78,800 turkeys in Todd County were impacted.

However, there have been other instances of the same variant of H5N1 in Minnesota in 2024, including three backyard poultry flocks and . The goat herd shared a barn space and a water source with an infected poultry flock in Stevens County.

The last time a Meeker County commercial flock was confirmed with HPAI was on Oct. 31, 2023. The county had four flocks infected in 2023 and eight flocks infected in 2022.

The first cases of H5N1 in Minnesota were confirmed on March 25, 2022, according to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.

The first confirmed case of H5N1 in a dairy herd in Texas was confirmed on March 25. Since then, the virus has been found in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Idaho, New Mexico and South Dakota.

On April 2, who had pink eye, tested positive for the avian influenza virus. This was the second human infection since the first infection .

A USDA preliminary investigation indicates that wild birds are the infection source. While these cattle have tested positive for the virus, Minnesota State Veterinarian Brian Hoefs said on April 2 that it’s not yet clear if the virus is the reason for the symptoms found in the cows. Transmission of the virus between cattle can also not be ruled out.

Agweek contributed to this story.