State reports three new Iowa flocks with bird flu

The frequency of avian flu reports in Iowa poultry has accelerated and included three flocks on Monday in far western and northern counties, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

The latest flocks infected by highly pathogenic avian influenza include about 429,000 egg-laying chickens in Sioux County, about 30,000 turkeys in Worth County and 34 backyard birds in Monona County.

The total tallies of recent outbreaks is eight flocks and about 6.8 million birds. They've been reported over a span of 10 days after more than five months of no detections in Iowa poultry.

The virus is often transmitted by wild, migrating birds. There has been a spike in recent weeks of virus activity among those birds, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

That started in mid-November when hunted ducks that appeared healthy were found to be infected in increasing numbers. A rise in sick and dead geese followed, the DNR said.

Infected wild birds might show no symptoms, but the virus is often lethal for domestic birds and spreads easily. Entire flocks are culled to prevent the virus from spreading flock-to-flock.

The other recently confirmed infections in Iowa flocks include:

There have been no humans in Iowa known to be infected by the virus. At least 60 have been infected nationwide but recovered, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most of them were known to have direct contact with sick poultry or livestock. The DNR has warned people to avoid contact with sick or dead ducks and geese.

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