BREAKING: Bird flu infection 'probable' in Iowa, 19,000 birds potentially affected: Iowa Department of Agriculture
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship confirmed Wednesday that four more farms have tested positive for bird flu in the state, according to a press release.
According to KCCI News in Des Moines, as of Wednesday, the total confirmed cases includes 9.8 million chickens and about 80,000 turkeys. The birds will all be euthanized.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported Thursday that another 19,000 birds at a chicken broiler breeding farm were potentially affected, citing the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Apr. 20 had confirmed 5.3 million birds in Iowa were affected by an avian influenza outbreak.
The latest cases came after about 2 million birds were affected by an outbreak in Minnesota, according to local officials. In Wisconsin, where tens of thousands of birds were also exposed to the virus, the governor called a state of emergency to assist farmers in their response. Thousands of birds were also affected by an outbreak in South Dakota.
Birds in the affected flocks will be euthanized to keep the disease from becoming established in U.S. poultry populations, according to the USDA. Equipment and facilities will also be disinfected, after which officials will test to confirm the virus has been eliminated.
No cases of the disease have been found in people, and health officials said the risk of humans transmission is very low.
"CDC considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks, and commercial poultry, to be low," the USDA said in an announcement.
The birds in the affected populations will not become part of the food stream, the USDA added.