Kansas, Minnesota lead the way with confirmations of HPAI in commercial, backyard flocks 

Highly pathogenic avian influenza cases are on the rise according to news outlets, and Kansas is seeing the most severe outbreak in the country with nearly 414,000 birds affected.  

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed as of Jan. 12, in Kansas there have been four affected commercial flocks, six affected backyard flocks, for a total of 414,647 birds in this outbreak.Minnesota is second with 383,400 birds affected as of Jan. 16. In that state, four commercial flocks have been affected. The most recent confirmed case in Minnesota was a commercial turkey meat bird flock in Meeker County where 250,600 birds were affected. 

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, the overall size of the U.S. poultry flock shows more than 378.5 million egg-laying chickens in the United States. In 2023, more than 9.4 billion broiler chickens and 218 million turkeys were processed in the U.S. 

HPAI is an umbrella term for avian influenza that includes highly contagious strains such as H5 and H7, is considered a low public health risk, although it can pass to humans through birds and dairy products from infected cattle, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

“H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows with sporadic human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers,” according to CDC.  

Avian influenza kills almost 100% of the birds it infects. The bulk of the infected birds in Kansas, about 380,000, were reported to be in a commercial operation in Pottawatomie County, USDA reports said. 

Kansas has not had a reported case of avian bird flu in a human, according to CDC records. Since 2024 in the U.S., there have been 74 reported bird flu cases in humans and two deaths. 

Kylene Scott can be reached at 620-227-1804 or [email protected].