Avian flu’s return to Iowa complicated by spread from wild birds

DES MOINES — The bird flu that first stuck Iowa in March in many ways feels like a repeat of seven years ago, when 34 million turkeys and chickens died or were euthanized, causing $427 million in lost revenue to producers, according to one report.

In other ways, this year’s bird flu could prove even more disastrous.

This year, the disease is being spread more often by wild birds, particularly waterfowl like geese and ducks, making it more difficult to contain the virus’ spread despite heightened biosecurity measures that were implemented after 2015.

And the avian flu hit Iowa earlier this time around: This year’s first case was announced March 2, while in 2015 it did not appear in Iowa until April 20. With the disease being spread by wild birds, it could continue throughout the migratory season.

“Time will tell how this plays out,” Mike Naig, the state’s agriculture secretary, said Friday during recording of this week’s episode of “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS.

Iowa is the top egg-producing state in the nation, and is No. 7 in turkey production.

With two new cases of the bird flu in Iowa confirmed Friday, the state was up to 12 confirmed cases in this year’s outbreak. Of those, 10 have been commercial flocks — five each of turkey and chicken flocks — and two residential flocks. Nearly 13 million birds have been euthanized.

The issue is not just in Iowa; 23 states have confirmed cases, Naig said.

Avian influenza usually does not infect people, although rare cases in people have been reported, the state agriculture department says. And the disease does not contaminate the food supply, so there is no related danger in eating chicken or turkey during the outbreak, an Iowa State University expert said.

Naig said government officials and industry producers learned many valuable lessons from the 2015 outbreak, most notably how large bird farms can be more proactive by installing biosecurity measures, and how government agencies can be more effective in reacting to an outbreak.

And those lessons learned are being applied as producers attempt to protect their flocks and government officials attempt to limit the disease’s deadly spread, Naig said.

But those factors that are beyond producers’ and officials’ control could contribute to another devastating spring and summer for Iowa’s bird producers and backyard flock owners.

“There’s a pretty distinct difference this time in that we have a lot of wild bird introductions where wild birds are carrying the virus, they’re interacting with the domestic bird population, and we end up with positives,” Naig said.

Kevin Stiles, executive director of the Iowa Poultry Association, said poultry farmers are doing their best to shield their birds from the virus. But, like Naig, Stiles said the transmission from wild birds is making their defense more challenging.

“Bird flu is spread by migrating waterfowl and despite a farmer’s best efforts, the disease sometimes gets onto a farm. The poultry industry and farmers are collaborating with our government partners to quickly contain any detections and stop the spread,” Stiles said in a statement.

Dr. Yuko Sato, a poultry veterinarian with ISU, said it is too soon to tell how much damage this year’s outbreak will cause. Although she and others noted the disease’s spread started roughly a month sooner this year than in 2015.

“In a very bad sense, we are ahead of schedule,” Sato said. “It’s hard to predict what the migratory birds are going to do. Their big migration, I believe, is over. But there is more migration to come. Will that last until the regular-ish mid-May, or will it last until June? That’s a little bit harder to predict. So we’re kind of at the mercy of what’s to happen.”

Sato said owners of backyard flocks should attempt to keep their birds inside as much as possible during the migration season, to limit the potential interactions with disease-carrying waterfowl.

The impact on chicken and turkey farmers could lead to disruption in the food chain and price increases, Naig said.

“It is true that if we continue to see the spread of (bird flu) and affecting more and more sites than yes, I think you could very well see a change in price and even availability,” Naig said. “I think we will see some increases in prices as we go through the spring. And then it really just depends on what kind of spread do we see over the next few months.”

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