A goat in Minnesota has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, marking the first case of bird flu in domestic cattle, sheep, goats, or their relatives in the United States.
The positive juvenile goat was found on a Stevens County farm that already had bird flu infected poultry, as announced by the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. All poultry on the property had been quarantined since the HPAI detection in February.
Following the goat's positive result, the board quarantined all other species on the premises and is collaborating with the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to investigate the transmission of the virus in this case.
Dr. Brian Hoefs, the state veterinarian, emphasized the significance of this finding, stating that while the spring migration poses a higher risk for poultry transmission, the virus infecting other animals on farms with multiple species is a possibility. However, research indicates that mammals are unlikely to spread HPAI further.
The board reassured the public that the risk of infection is extremely low, with any potential risk limited to individuals in direct contact with infected animals. To date, no cases of illness have been reported in the U.S. following contact with mammals infected with this virus.
HPAI is a severe disease that requires swift action due to its high contagiousness and fatality rate in chickens, according to the Department of Agriculture.
The owner of the goat reported unusual deaths of newly kidded goats on the property, where a backyard poultry flock had been depopulated in February due to HPAI. The goats and poultry shared the same space, including a common water source.
Testing at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed the presence of H5N1 HPAI in one of the goat carcasses, the same virus circulating in the national outbreak that began in 2022. While millions of birds have been culled due to the outbreak, samples from adult goats in this case tested negative for HPAI.
HPAI has been previously diagnosed in other mammalian species such as skunks, dogs, and cats. Animals with weakened immune systems, like the goat kids in this case, are at higher risk of contracting the disease.
There have been no prior reports of natural HPAI infection in goats, and limited experimental data exists on HPAI infection in ruminants. The USDA has recorded over 200 detections of HPAI in mammals across the country since the start of the 2022 outbreak.
The Minnesota Department of Health has issued recommendations for personal protective equipment and is monitoring the health of individuals in direct contact with the infected goats. Anyone experiencing respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms after exposure to the goats is encouraged to seek testing for avian influenza and other respiratory pathogens.
