Goat dies of bird flu for the first time in the US, Minnesota officials say

Goat Meat

Published Mar 23, 2024

Tridge summary

The first case of a ruminant, a juvenile goat, testing positive for avian influenza in the U.S. has been reported in Minnesota. The goat was from a backyard farm in Stevens County, where poultry had previously tested positive for the H5N1 strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). The Minnesota Board of Animal Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are investigating the transmission. This is the first case in a ruminant species, despite over 200 individual mammals having been found with the virus since 2022. The risk to humans remains extremely low, with infection limited to those in direct contact with infected animals.

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Original content

Minnesota has reported the U.S.'s first ruminant—a group of animals including cattle, sheep, and goats—to test positive for avian influenza.The finding is "significant" because "it highlights the possibility of the virus infecting other animals on farms with multiple species," State Veterinarian Dr. Brian Hoefs said in a March 20 news release from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.The animal to test positive was a goat kid, or juvenile goat, from a backyard farm in Stevens County, according to officials.The farm had a flock of poultry that tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), specifically the H5N1 strain, in February.Officials said they were alerted to unusual deaths among baby goats on the property in early March.Before the poultry flock was quarantined and eventually culled due to the presence of the virus, the birds and goats shared a space and drank from the same water source, officials said.One of the dead goats was brought for testing which ...

Source: Phys