Avian flu affects 77,700 South Dakota birds, raising state’s four-year outbreak total to 8.1 million

By: Makenzie Huber

Outlets: South Dakota Searchlight

Published: August 21, 2026

Words: 311

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 5 days ago

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Bird flu has returned to South Dakota, with federal officials confirming detections in two flocks this month after nearly a month without U.S. cases.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus — H5N1, a strain that spreads quickly and kills birds rapidly — struck a flock of 74,900 commercial meat turkeys in Beadle County on Aug. 12 and a backyard flock of 2,800 birds in Brule County on Thursday. Euthanizing the entire affected flock …

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