On Tuesday, two commercial turkey farms in South Dakota’s Faulk and McPherson counties confirmed a “highly pathogenic” strain of bird flu, impacting over 114,000 birds.
The H5N1 virus is extremely infectious and often fatal to birds, leading to euthanization.
The outbreak is believed to be caused by infected migratory waterfowl flying south from Canada and the North American Arctic.
South Dakota now ranks as the second hardest-hit state in the nation, with over 162,000 commercial turkeys affected in October.
Since February 2022, more than 4.2 million birds have been affected in South Dakota, contributing to the nationwide tally of 59.33 million impacted by the virus.
The outbreak is expected to persist for an extended period.