News Releases

Saint Paul, Minn - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health launched the Commercial Breeder Excellence Program earlier this month and has certified the first qualifying commercial dog breeder. There are 119 licensed commercial dog or cat breeders in Minnesota, and each may earn up to five different badges as voluntary participants in the Breeder Excellence Program. Each badge represents an area where

Saint Paul, Minn - Horse owners are encouraged to work with their veterinarian to make sure their animals are up to date on vaccines to reduce the risk of illnesses from disease carrying insects. Vaccines for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile Virus (WNV), two of the most common diseases spread by insects during warmer months in Minnesota are widely available and have been proven to

Saint Paul, Minn - A Carver County cat was confirmed to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans, seven days after its owner was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19. There is also a dog in the household and the attending veterinarian reports it remains healthy at this time. The veterinarian said the cat was healthy five days after the initial clinic visit. The

Saint Paul, Minn - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health’s investigation of all herds with connections to the CWD-positive Douglas County farm is complete and revealed a total of six CWD positive deer. In all, eight herds in six counties were linked by animal movement and six herds were quarantined. All the CWD positive deer were in two herds, the one in Douglas County and another in Pine County

Saint Paul, Minn - Test results from the depopulation of a Pine County deer farm have confirmed four additional cases chronic wasting disease (CWD). The first CWD positive animals at this farm were confirmed in January 2020, resulting in depopulation of the herd. This herd was investigated because it provided animals to a Douglas County deer farm in the past, including a CWD-positive doe that

Saint Paul, Minn - The ongoing chronic wasting disease investigation of farms tied to the Douglas County detection first reported in December 2019 has led to a CWD-confirmed doe on a Pine County farm. The herd in Pine County was being investigated because it provided animals to the Douglas County herd in the past, including the CWD positive doe that initiated the disease investigation.

“We

Saint Paul, Minn - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health confirms an 8-year-old white-tailed doe tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) after its white-tailed buck pen-mate killed it in a small, two-deer, hobbyist herd in Douglas County. The USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the doe’s brain and lymph node tissues were positive for the disease. The site is under

Saint Paul, Minn - An Otter Tail County kitten tested positive for rabies on November 12, 2019. The kitten bit three people, including a 4-year-old child and a pregnant woman.

The owner of the farm where the kitten was fed reported she heard a commotion on her front porch midmorning on October 16. She saw a skunk on the porch attacking an approximately 6-month-old kitten. After separating the

Saint Paul, Minn - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health received Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) test results from the depopulation of a Crow Wing County deer farm on April 16. A total of 102 deer were removed from the farm and all viable samples were sent to the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory for CWD testing. The results are as follows:

• 7 CWD positive
• 82 CWD not detected
• 13 too

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) has been confirmed in two white-tailed farmed deer in Houston County after the owner submitted samples because of their suspicious deaths. The virus is transmitted by biting midges and was first confirmed in Minnesota deer in 2018 on a white-tailed deer farm in Goodhue County. Most deer die within 36 hours of exhibiting clinical signs of EHD.

“The two deer were

Saint Paul, Minn - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health encourages livestock owners to make sure their animals are healthy, and their livestock equipment is cleaned before departing to exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair this year. Each August, the State Fair hosts more than 20,000 animals participating in livestock competitions, shows and exhibits. No animal may enter, or be present at, a public

• Eastern equine encephalitis in Otter Tail County
• Equine infectious anemia in Pine County
• West Nile virus disease in Swift County

Saint Paul, Minn - Recent disease surveillance testing reveals a trio of rare equine diseases in three different Minnesota counties. Two of the diseases, Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and West Nile virus (WNV), are spread by mosquitoes and pose a risk to horses and

Saint Paul, Minn - A six-week-old quarter horse was euthanized in Clay County, Minnesota, on July 15, and post-mortem tests confirmed it was infected with the highly contagious disease Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM). The Minnesota Board of Animal Health is responding to the case by activating its EHM control plan and placing the Clay County farm under quarantine to closely monitor

Saint Paul, Minn - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced the depopulation of all the deer on a Crow Wing County Farm first infected with CWD in 2016. The USDA is providing indemnity to the owner for the animals as part of its overall disease control effort. The Board of Animal Health is coordinating with the USDA to collect tissue samples for CWD testing, and will report results when they

Saint Paul, Minn - Chronic wasting disease was detected in four harvested samples from farmed deer at a quarantined farm in Crow Wing County. The farm has been under movement restrictions and monitored by the Board since December 2016 when two white-tailed deer tested positive for the disease. The Minnesota Board of Animal Health confirms recent samples were CWD positive in four deer.

• 9-year-old

Saint Paul, Minn - During a routine test, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health identified H5N2 low pathogenic avian influenza in a Stearns County turkey flock. All flocks are tested for influenza before they are moved to market, and this finding was part of the everyday process of ensuring a safe food supply and protecting Minnesota’s poultry industry from the spread of influenza. The flock of 13

Saint Paul, Minn - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health has confirmed a case of H5N2 low pathogenic avian influenza (H5N2 LPAI) in a commercial turkey flock in Kandiyohi County. The disease was detected during routine surveillance testing of the flock of 10,000 13-week-old turkey toms on October 19. This farm includes an additional three barns housing 10,000 birds each, all of which have tested

Saint Paul, Minn - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health has confirmed the first cases of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) in Minnesota deer. Six of seven animals in a small herd of captive white-tailed deer in Goodhue County died of the disease earlier this month. The remaining buck appears healthy at this time and is showing no clinical signs associated with this disease. This is the first

Saint Paul, Minn - A 3-year-old Miniature Horse in Pine City was confirmed to have West Nile Virus on July 27, which marks the first equine case in Minnesota in 2018. The attending veterinarian reported to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health that the stallion presented with acute neurologic signs, exhibiting profound weakness in his front limbs, tripping and falling and requiring assistance to

Saint Paul, Minn - The Minnesota Board of Animal Health reminds livestock producers and veterinarians to be on the lookout for cases of anthrax, especially after recent confirmed cattle deaths from anthrax in South Dakota. Anthrax is caused by a spore-forming bacterium called Bacillus anthracis, which can emerge in greater concentrations after rain storms, flooding or excavation. Anthrax usually