Keeping turkeys and people thriving
When it comes to turkey, CFANS animal scientists keep a One Health perspective, aiming to help the birds’ own immune systems become more resilient
May 27, 2026
Minnesota is the number one producer of turkeys in the United States, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Americans, on average, eat over 15 pounds of turkey every year. With over $1 billion and 26,000 jobs at stake, turkey production is a vital industry in our state. But over the past decade, turkey production has fluctuated, due to challenges like avian flu outbreaks. Experts at the University of Minnesota are tackling the challenges turkeys — and people — face, with a One Health lens.
Pathogens such as avian metapneumovirus (aMPV), avian influenza, and secondary bacterial infections like E. coli continue to cause major economic and animal health impacts in commercial flocks.
“Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly referred to as bird flu, remains the paramount disease in the turkey industry,” explains Kahina Boukherroub, faculty member in the Department of Animal Science. “It’s a major and persistent driver of economic losses and industry strain.”
CFANS researchers are looking beyond answers for ways to strengthen the turkey immune system itself. Sunantha Kosonsiriluk, a research assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science, and her team are looking for new ways to prime the turkeys’ immune systems and airways, making the turkeys more resilient to a broad spectrum of respiratory diseases. Researchers are evaluating compounds as practical tools that could potentially reduce disease severity, viral shedding, and transmission in poultry flocks.
“Unlike traditional vaccines that target a single pathogen, these approaches aim to strengthen the bird’s broader innate immune defenses so they can respond more effectively to multiple respiratory disease challenges,” says Kosonsiriluk. “Ultimately, the goal is to develop practical, scalable tools that help producers improve flock health while reducing reliance on antibiotics.”
Helping turkeys become more resilient to a broad range of diseases could have increased importance in a changing climate. Environmental factors, like increased heat stress can weaken the birds’ immune systems. Changing wild bird migration patterns can also impact the introduction of new diseases or the persistence of disease.
More broadly, researchers and extension specialists across the University of Minnesota are actively involved in poultry disease surveillance, diagnostics, outreach, and producer education related to HPAI preparedness and response.
“A key part of our work is collaboration, meaning we work closely with scientists from the turkey industry to make sure their research findings are practical and can be used quickly on farms to improve the health and well-being of the birds,” says Boukherroub. The researchers partner with industry groups like the Minnesota Turkey Research & Promotion Council.
“Our goal is to help birds better cope with changing environmental pressures and emerging disease risks,” says Kosonsiriluk.
