Northwest Iowa — The Iowa Department of Agriculture has announced some new developments in the bird flu outbreak.
The state announced two new cases of the bird flu. They are the fifth case of bird flu in Wright County at a pullet farm with 400-thousand birds, and the seventh case in Sac County that includes 42-thousand turkeys. That brings the state’s total cases to 70.
The Ag Department also announced that several loads of materials from cleaned out bird flu sites were buried Thursday at the Northwest Iowa Landfill near Sheldon. Its the first deposit of materials in a public landfill from the outbreak.
Officials also noted the incinerator at the Cherokee landfill came online Thursday, with loads scheduled for incineration in the immediate future. Governor Branstad has extended the statewide disaster emergency for the bird flu through the month of June. It was set to expire at the end of May.
The disaster declaration allows for the coordination of state resources in the disposal of the infected animals. Branstad said at the time he declared the state of emergency that it was the worst such outbreak in the state in modern times.
Radio Iowa assisted with this story.
