Bird flu strikes Cherokee County turkey flock

Highly transmissible avian flu infected a turkey flock in Cherokee County with about 103,000 birds, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

The department announced the virus detection Sunday, and Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for Cherokee County that allows state resources to be used to assist with tracking and monitoring, rapid detection, containment, disposal and disinfection.

It was the second such announcement in a week, and the highly pathogenic avian influenza infections are the first two in Iowa poultry this year. The other affected a Sioux County flock of about 4.2 million egg-laying chickens.

Entire flocks are culled to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Wild birds are believed to be the primary source of infections among domestic flocks. Infected wild birds can be asymptomatic, whereas the virus is often deadly for poultry.

Evaluations of the viruses are underway to determine whether they are a variant that has infected cattle in other states, Iowa ag officials have said. No cattle infections have been confirmed in Iowa.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.