A Polk County, Mo., facility has been quarantined after the discovery of a suspected case of bird flu. Additional tests will authenticate the viral disease at the Polk County facility, the state said Wednesday, reports CNN News.

"As a precaution, the poultry facility has been quarantined following preliminary results obtained during routine testing," the Missouri Department of Agriculture said in a news release.

Cargill, which owns the birds but uses the farm on a contract, will euthanize up to 15,000 younger birds that have been exposed to older turkeys that tested positive for bird flu antibodies. Flocks within six miles of the facility are also being tested, said Mike martin, director of communications for Cargill.

"At the time the tests were conducted, the birds had no symptoms of the avian influenza. However, the antibodies mean at some time, the animal immune systems responded to the avian influenza," Martin said. "The flu could have been present in the water, ground, air or transmitted by other migrating birds." He added that the flu is not a threat to humans, but that the concern is not spreading it to other animal herds.

Source: CNN