Milder Bird Flu Found in Jennie-O Farm in Wisconsin

BARRON, Wis. (AP) – Officials confirm a low-pathogenic bird flu strain has been detected in a Jennie-O Turkey Store operation in western Wisconsin.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture posted notice of the case to the Organization for Animal Health’s website Tuesday. Austin, Minnesota-based Hormel Foods Corp., which owns Willmar, Minnesota-based Jennie-O, confirmed the H5N2 strain was detected Saturday at it’s Barron operation.

The USDA report said 84,000 birds are at the farm.

The Star Tribune reports it is the second case of bird flue reported at a U.S. commercial poultry operation in a week. The first case, reported late last week at a Tennessee chicken farm, is the highly pathogenic bird flu (HPAI) H7.

In a statement Hormel said Jennie-O has no turkey flocks in that area of the country.