DoomsdaysCW<p>Officials: <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Minnesota" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Minnesota</span></a> was about to be declared free of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AvianFlu" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AvianFlu</span></a>, but it won't last long</p><p>Story by Jeremiah Jacobsen, March 26, 2025</p><p>"Minnesota was on track to declare itself free of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HPAI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HPAI</span></a>, also known as <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/H5N1" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>H5N1</span></a>) on Friday, but state officials cautioned on Wednesday that is not likely to last.</p><p>"The state has not seen any new cases of HPAI reported in birds since January, which fits the official classification to be declared bird flu-free. However, Minnesota State Veterinarian Dr. Brian Hoefs said the return of migratory birds and recent positive testing on a Stearns County dairy farm mean it's only a matter of time before disease is detected again in birds.</p><p>"Hoefs said in the past, avian flu cases tended to follow the migratory bird season, but in recent years, as the illness has moved to more wild and domestic species, H5N1 cases are sticking around beyond the usual seasons. Much like influenza strains in humans, avian flu strains also evolve.</p><p>"'This virus has a habit of changing, getting ahead of us, and kind of rerouting when we think we have to figure it out,' Hoefs said.</p><p>"Minnesota Ag Commissioner Thom Petersen said the concern right now is the potential spread to dairy farms, which could see a loss in production, but not the same type of mortality that's found with infected poultry herds.</p><p>"'As we watch what happened in California, where over 700 of their 900-plus dairy farms have gotten H5N1 in their dairy herds, Minnesota has over 1,600 dairy farms,' Petersen said. 'We want to be very much on top of this.'"</p><p><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/officials-minnesota-was-about-to-be-declared-free-of-avian-flu-but-it-won-t-last-long/ar-AA1BImgA" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">msn.com/en-us/health/other/off</span><span class="invisible">icials-minnesota-was-about-to-be-declared-free-of-avian-flu-but-it-won-t-last-long/ar-AA1BImgA</span></a> <br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HPAINews" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HPAINews</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AvianInfluenza" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AvianInfluenza</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AvianFlu" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AvianFlu</span></a></p>