Bird Flu Detected at Stearns County Dairy

(Learfield News/St. Paul, MN) — A statewide milk surveillance confirms avian influenza in samples from a Stearns County dairy herd.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is conducting monthly testing of pre-pasteurized (raw) cow milk samples already collected from the state’s nearly 1,600 dairy farms.

The positive test was confirmed on Friday, and the herd has been quarantined until it meets requirements indicating the infection is gone.

Officials say there’s no concern for the safety of the public milk supply.