November 1, 2022

Bird flu detected at Iowa, US commercial egg farm with 1 million chickens

Agriculture officials from Iowa state, US has confirmed a bird flu outbreak has been detected at a commercial egg farm in the state with about 1.1 million chickens, the first commercial farm case since April this year when a turkey farm was infected, ABC News reported.

The most recent case was detected in Wright County, which is in north central Iowa and is located about 130 km north of Des Moines.

This year, 15 commercial farms in Iowa have contracted the disease, which has affected chickens, including turkeys and other poultry. Five backyard flocks have also contracted the disease. All birds on an infected farm are killed and destroyed because the virus is extremely contagious, preventing the disease from spreading.

Before the most recent farm was discovered to be infected, Iowa had suffered the most bird losses this year, losing more than 13.3 million birds.

More than 47.7 million birds nationwide, including 251 commercial flocks and 328 backyard flocks, have been impacted in 43 states, based on figures from the US Department of Agriculture.

The majority of the cases in Iowa occurred in March and April, during the wild bird migration season, with one case being reported in early May. After a backyard flock became infected on October 20, the virus was not discovered again until the most recent infection was discovered on Monday.

Agriculture officials from the federal and state levels had been worried that it might reappear with the fall migration of wild birds, which frequently carry the virus but are unaffected by it. The virus can infect dust and soil when it is dispersed through bird excrement or nasal secretions.

Mike Naig, Iowa's Agriculture Secretary, said as migration continues, they continue to emphasise the need for strict biosecurity on poultry farms and around backyard flocks to help prevent and limit the spread of this destructive virus,

Naig said they have been preparing for the possibility of additional outbreaks and are working closely with USDA and producers to eradicate this disease from our state.

-      ABC News