As bird flu crisis slows down where it began in Minnesota, focus turns to recovery

Minnesota has notched six straight days without a new bird flu case. And though state officials aren't ready to say the outbreak is over, they're beginning to stand down.

The first case in the Midwest was confirmed in March at a Minnesota turkey farm, and the virus then spread to 88 farms in the top turkey producing state. But new cases have fallen off sharply and the focus is turning toward getting farms back into production.

To be sure, the disease remains a threat. Iowa, the chief egg producer in the U.S., has reported several new probable cases this week.

But things have settled down enough that Minnesota's Board of Animal Health stopped issuing daily updates unless it has new cases. And federal personnel assigned to the state have fallen.