March 9, 2022

Highly pathogenic bird flu detected in Iowa, US

A second outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu has been detected in the the top egg-producing state of Iowa, US, at a commercial turkey farm, Reuters reported.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the outbreak in Iowa state's Buena Vista County.

Mike Naig, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, said they are working with producers to trace back, control and eradicate this disease.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a disaster proclamation for Buena Vista County to assist with tracking, detection and elimination of the disease.

The state confirmed its first bird flu case this year among backyard poultry in Pottawattamie County. The virus has been detected in commercial farms in Indiana, Kentucky and Delaware, which has triggered export restrictions for US poultry products.

Iowa was the centre of the country's biggest bird flu outbreak in 2015, with about 50 million birds killed.

-      Reuters