Bird Flu Update: Minnesota Governor Declares State of Emergency Over 2015 Outbreak

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has declared a state of emergency on Thursday over a bird flu outbreak that is responsible for the extermination of more than 7.3 million birds throughout the country. Wisconsin has already declared a state of emergency over this avian flu outbreak.

The H5N2 strain of the avian flu has been spreading at a fast rate throughout Minnesota farms. So far the highly pathogenic strain has been identified on 46 farms from 16 counties. The flu has affect more than 2.6 million birds within the state alone.

"This is a moving target and the number of farms affected continues to increase," Dayton said. "We don't know what the ceiling will be."

There have been no human cases identified and the risk of human infection is low.

"There's no reason for anybody in the state of Minnesota to be concerned about their own health," the Governor reassured during a press conference. Dayton stated that the National Guard would be called immediately if needed.

"The poultry on grocery store shelves has always been safe and will continue to be safe," state Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson added.

Despite the low risk for humans, health officials are following the recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a preventive measures. The officials are providing farm workers and people who have come into direct contact with infected birds with the antiviral drug, Tamiflu.

The state health department has contacted 140 people and advised 87 of them to take the drug as a preventive measure. The department's spokesman Michael Schommer stated that 70 of them agreed to take the drug. The department has followed up on 62 of the people and none of them has gotten infected.

The circulating strain poses a huge threat for farms because it can take out an entire flock within 48 hours. Officials are unclear as to how the virus is spreading in the farms but they believe that wild birds are the culprits.

The H5N2 strain has been identified in Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. It has also been found abroad in Ontario, Canada.