Bird flu makes first appearance of the year in Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Bird flu has returned to Minnesota less than four months after the deadly poultry disease was last detected in the state. The Board of Animal Health says it was confirmed in a backyard flock in Le Sueur County of south-central Minnesota. The site was quarantined and the 114 birds on the premises — mostly chickens — were destroyed to prevent the spread. Minnesota’s last previous detection was in a backyard flock in Redwood County of southwestern Minnesota in December. The outbreak began last year, driving up egg and poultry prices, and forcing the slaughter of more than 58 million birds across the country.