Animal Disease Outbreak
Minnesota is an agricultural state, and poultry, pork and dairy production are major industries. It's also a state with abundant wildlife, including major migration paths for birds, thousands of lakes for fish and a large deer population. An outbreak of disease among the domestic or wild animals in the state could have a devastating impact on the economy. In addition, some animal diseases can spread to humans.
Among the diseases that affect animals are avian influenza ("bird flu") in wild or domestic flocks, chronic wasting disease in deer, rabies in mammals and West Nile virus in birds. Each year in Minnesota, between 45 and 200 animals test positive for rabies; most of these animals are skunks and bats.
Be prepared for an animal disease outbreak, which could cause food supplies to drop quickly and dramatically.
- Go to Get Prepared to create a family communication plan that includes a Stay Plan and build a 1-month emergency supply kit to be ready for an animal disease outbreak.
- Print the Animal Disease Outbreak Checklist (PDF) and discuss this information with your family.
Animal Disease Outbreak Resources
- Minnesota Board of Animal Health Emergency Preparedness (external link)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Pets Healthy People (external link)
- Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) Minnesota Department of Agriculture Homepage (external link)
- Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Homepage (external link)
- Minnesota's Department of Health (MDH) Minnesota's Rabies Facts (external link)
Dead Bird Reporting (external link)