Bird flu hits Buena Vista County for a seventh time since 2022

Agriculture officers confirmed a brand new case of fowl flu in northwest Iowa’s Buena Vista County on Wednesday, the primary case of extremely pathogenic avian influenza in Iowa poultry this 12 months, in a county that’s misplaced extra industrial birds due to the virus than some other county within the nation.

Don McDowell, a spokesman for the Iowa Division of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, stated there are 27,650 industrial turkeys on the affected Buena Vista County website. The turkeys are being destroyed to regulate the unfold of fowl flu.

“We’re encouraging poultry producers and people with yard flocks to maintain their biosecurity at a heightened degree,” stated McDowell in an electronic mail to IPR Information.

It is the thirty first case of fowl flu confirmed in an Iowa industrial or yard flock, because the fowl flu outbreak began within the state final March. Two weeks in the past, the state had lifted a ban on reside fowl exhibitions at gala’s and different gatherings that it put into place in November.

The entire fowl flu instances since December have been in northwest Iowa industrial turkey flocks. In an interview with IPR Information final month, Gretta Irwin, the chief director of the Iowa Turkey Federation stated the state’s turkey federation was “puzzled” by what was taking place.

Consultants have attributed the fowl flu outbreak to wild birds which might be migrating. They will carry the virus with out displaying any signs and shed it via droppings or saliva. Although specialists have famous this specific pressure of fowl flu is inflicting wild birds to get sick, have seizures, and even die.

The illness has been blamed for a pointy spike in egg costs.

Iowa leads the nation within the variety of chickens and turkeys killed due to the illness since final 12 months: practically 16 million. Almost 5.5 million industrial chickens and turkeys have been killed in Buena Vista County – greater than some other county within the nation.