Seven years ago, the state’s poultry producers had their flocks decimated by bird flu virus, a disease that poses little threat to humans, but can run rampant through poultry flocks. Around 9 million turkeys and chickens had to be destroyed, at a cost of $650 million, in order to contain the disease.

The flu virus, officially known as the H5N1 HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) virus, is making a comeback in neighboring states, and the state has confirmed it has appeared in three flocks. Over the weekend, cases were confirmed in a commercial turkey flock of 289,000 birds in Meeker County, and a 14-bird backyard flock in Mower County. On Monday a third commercial turkey flock of 24,000 birds in Stearns County was confirmed to have the virus.

The bird flu virus occurs naturally in wild fowl, and can spread through contact to domestic flocks.

Humans can contract the virus through contact with bird feces, nasal secretions or secretions through the mouth or eyes. But such transmission is rare. There’s no danger of getting it from eating cooked chicken or turkey.

The major danger from the avian flu virus is the impact it could have on commercial poultry flocks. If it spreads widely, as it did in 2015, and millions of birds are destroyed, it will hurt the bottom line of poultry producers, and will impact the price of poultry in the markets as well.

After 2015, the state is well aware of the need for surveillance, quarantining and eliminating infected flocks, which should help keep the infection rates low.