<text>  A deadly strain of bird flu has been found in a Minnesota commercial turkey flock. The virus devastated a flock of 15,000 turkeys in western Minnesotas Pope County. Its the same highly pathogenic H5N2 strain of avian influenza thats been confirmed in backyard and wild birds in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. However, its the first appearance of the strain in the Mississippi flyway states around the Mississippi river said Dr. Bill Hartmann, Minnesotas state veterinarian. Fewer than 100 of the turkeys were still alive by Thursday, Hartmann said. The flock has been quarantined and the remaining birds were being killed. A flock of 15,000 turkeys was wiped out on a farm in Minnesota in a week by a deadly strain of bird flu carried by wild waterfowl that are not sickened by it. The strain has already been found in the Pacific Northwest . Dr. Bill Hartmann left said that this is the first appearance of the strain in the area. Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson right said: We can only prepare for the worst and hope for the best No other commercial flocks are nearby, he said, but backyard flocks within a 10-kilometer area approximately six miles were being tested for the disease. The virus is carried by wild waterfowl that arent sickened by it. The incubation period is approximately 21 days. Were encouraged that well be able to prevent the spread of the disease, Hartmann said. We should be able to contain this without much difficulty. If we can get through the next 21 days without finding anything, we should be in good shape, Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson added. Minnesota is the nations top turkey producer, with industry groups claiming to produce some 46 million turkeys each year worth around 750 million. Frederickson said about 8 per cent of that production, or 92 million worth, was exported in 2013. He acknowledged that those exports could take a hit, as poultry exports from states in the Northwest already have. Were very cognizant of that, Frederickson said. We can only prepare for the worst and hope for the best. The risk to humans is low, state and federal officials announced on Thursday. Minnesota Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger stressed there is no danger to the general public . Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger said the only humans at risk were four people who worked directly with the infected flock and they will be monitored. However, no human infections from this strain have been detected anywhere, he said. There are no food safety concerns at this time, Ehlinger said. This is not a threat to the general public. Hartmann said he was prohibited by law from identifying the farm or saying where its located in Pope County. Nearly all commercial turkey operations keep their birds inside large barns and they never go outside. Hartmann said that was the true for the affected farm, too. He said turkeys in only one of the farms four barns got sick. Farm workers found 70 dead turkeys on February 26 and notified the state the next day when hundreds died. The state got confirmation of the virus from a U.S. Department of Agriculture lab on Wednesday night. The state veterinarian said it was possible the virus may have been tracked into the barns from fecal material left by infected wild birds. Its also possible for infected waterfowl to transmit the virus to shore birds that might then get into a turkey barn, he added. 