Articles Tagged: Avian flu

An outbreak that led to the deaths of over 40 million chickens and turkeys and contributed to a spike in egg and meat prices appears to be waning, but experts worry another surge could take hold this fall.

Avian flu is spawning fantastical claims similar to the ones that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring how conspiracy theories often emerge at times of uncertainty, and how the internet and a deepening distrust of science fuel their spread.

Since Iowa confirmed it latest case of the avian flu May 2 in a backyard flock in Bremer County, at least 16 other outbreaks in eight states have been reported, leading farmers to cull tens of thousands of chickens, turkeys and ducks to slow the spread of the disease, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The latest reported toll is nearly 10 times higher than the 99 confirmed cases in wild birds during the last bird flu outbreak in 2015.

A Colorado prison inmate has tested positive for bird flu in the first recent confirmed case of a human infected with the disease, but federal officials say they still see little threat to the public.

It brings to 18 the number of outbreaks confirmed so far this year in Iowa, all since the start of March.

Recap of news from across the state

A case was detected in a commercial turkey flock in Bremer County, the 17th such detection in Iowa this year.

The USDA recommends chickens be moved indoors to protect against the disease. While some are keeping their hens inside, not everyone agrees.

Wild ducks that are prominent carriers of the highly contagious avian influenza are migrating through Iowa in their greatest numbers this month.

The spread of a bird flu that is deadly to poultry raises the grisly question of how farms manage to quickly kill and dispose of millions of chickens and turkeys.

Bird flu has now been confirmed in 12 of Iowa’s 99 counties.

Zoos across North America -- including the one in Des Moines -- are moving their birds indoors and away from people and wildlife as they try to protect them from the highly contagious and potentially deadly bird flu.

This marks the 15th case confirmed this year in Iowa, all of them striking after March 1.

For more than a week, the pelicans have been swimming in and flying around the Iowa River as far south as Terry Trueblood Recreation Area all the way north to the Coralville Lake.