MAY 17, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
One of the nation's largest egg producers says
it will destroy 2 million egg-laying hens in Minnesota due to a deadly bird flu
virus.
The development at
the south-central Minnesota chicken farm brings the total of affected birds to
35 million in 15 states, with Minnesota and Iowa poultry flocks hit the
hardest.
The chickens will be
destroyed in the next four weeks at Rembrandt Enterprises farm in Renville, the
Star Tribune reported Saturday.
The company's vice
president of marketing, Jonathan Spurway, said one barn holding around 200,000
birds was infected, but the entire flock will be killed as a precaution.
Chickens at the farm
have tested "presumptive positive" for the disease "despite the
herculean efforts of Rembrandt's employees to keep our facilities
virus-fee," Spurway said.
Rembrandt
Enterprises suffered an outbreak in its Rembrandt, Iowa, facility May 1,
contaminating one barn housing about 250,000 hens. A third plant in Thompson,
Iowa hasn't been affected.
"We're doing
everything we possibly can (to protect flocks), and we don't know of anyone
who's doing anything we're not already doing," Spurway said. "The
industry is lost for words."
Before Saturday's
announcement, 88 Minnesota turkey and chicken farms had been affected by
confirmed or presumed outbreaks of the H5N2 avian influenza virus, which had
cost the state's producers around 5.8 million birds.
The Minnesota Board
of Animal Health announced Friday the cancellation of all exhibits featuring
birds at the Minnesota State Fair this year to stem the spread of the H5N2
virus. The directive also prohibits exhibitions at county fairs, swap meets,
petting zoos and sales.
North Dakota,
Pennsylvania and West Virginia had already blocked poultry shows at their state
and county fairs. The Ohio State Fair will prohibit poultry from affected
states.