3rd case of bird flu strikes northwest Iowa’s Buena Vista County

Another case of the bird flu — the third to strike Buena Vista County and the sixth to hit Iowa this year — has been confirmed in a commercial turkey flock, officials announced Thursday.

“This is a difficult time for poultry producers as (the bird flu) continues to impact farms across Iowa and the United States,” said Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig in a statement. “We continue to work with them, (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and other industry stakeholders to implement our plans and minimize the spread of the virus. Biosecurity remains the best line of defense to protect the health of our poultry flocks.”

No human cases of these avian influenza viruses have been detected in the United States.

The cases in Iowa — all confirmed this month — are a March 1 outbreak of in backyard mixed species of birds in Pottawattamie County; a March 6 outbreak in a commercial turkey flock in Buena Vista County; a March 10 outbreak among commercial layer chickens in Taylor County; a March 17 outbreak among commercial layer chickens in Buena Vista County; a March 20 outbreak in backyard mixed species of birds in Warren County; and the discovery Wednesday of the infected turkeys in Buena Vista County.