Northwest Iowa — The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have confirmed two additional positive cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in northwest Iowa.
State Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says bird flu has been confirmed in two more sites in the state.
Bird flu has been confirmed at a commercial site in Cherokee County with 88-thousand turkeys and at an egg-laying facility in Osceola County with five-point-three MILLION hens. Naig says nearly 13 million poultry animals have been killed in Iowa so far to try to prevent the spread of bird flu.
Naig says in the bird flu outbreak of 2015, the virus spread from facility to facility, but it appears bio-security measures at large operations are working — and officials believe this year’s round of bird flu is being spread by the spring migration of wild birds.
The bird flu outbreak in 2015 started in mid-April, but the first case of bird flu this year was confirmed on March 2nd. Naig says there’s still a steady supply of eggs, chicken and turkey in grocery stores, but it appears to be shrinking a bit.
Flock owners should prevent contact between their birds and wild birds and report sick birds or unusual deaths to state/federal officials. Biosecurity resources and best practices are available at iowaagriculture.gov/biosecurity. If producers suspect signs of HPAI in their flocks, they should contact their veterinarian immediately. Possible cases should also be reported to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at (515) 281-5305.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the recent HPAI detections in birds do not present an immediate public health concern. No human cases of these avian influenza viruses have been detected in the United States. It remains safe to eat poultry products. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses.
