This article has been updated with new information
Bird flu has been identified on a Burnett County commercial poultry farm, the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection said Thursday.
Nine people connected with the farm are being monitored for H5N1 symptoms but none of them have shown any yet, according to the state Department of Health Services.
The identity of the farm, in northwest Wisconsin, was not revealed. However, the 20,000 turkeys were destroyed to prevent spread of the H5N1 virus and will not enter the food system, officials said.
H5N1 outbreaks have led to the losses of commercial flocks in Burnett, Barron, Trempealeau, Washburn and other Wisconsin counties. The virus has also infected wild birds including cases in mallards, northern pintails and trumpeter swans in the state.
Dec. 18, Wisconsin’s first case of H5N1 bird flu in a human was identified, and later confirmed, on a Barron County turkey farm .
That case involved a farmworker who had relatively mild symptoms, such as a slight fever, sore throat, and some fatigue. She was treated with antiviral medication and appeared to be making a full recovery, officials said.