2 more cases of avian flu confirmed in Iowa

Two more reports of the avian flu — bringing to 17 the number of confirmations in Iowa over about the last six weeks — happened in backyard flocks in Woodbury County, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said Wednesday.

Most of the confirmations this fall have been in mixed species backyard flocks or in relatively small poultry operations. But two incidents, both in November, make up the majority of the birds that have been euthanized to slow the spread of the virus — 1,121,100 chickens in at a commercial egg layer operation in Taylor County and 1,606,300 chickens at a commercial egg layer operation in Sioux County.

According to a report in the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the number of birds euthanized this fall — about 3 million — has surpassed the number of birds killed during an outbreak last fall, when about 2.5 birds were euthanized. Last year, the last confirmation was not until Dec. 12.