Des Moines, Iowa — More than 4 million chickens in Iowa will have to be killed after a case of highly pathogenic bird flu was detected at a large egg farm, the state announced Tuesday.
Crews are killing 4.2 million chickens after the disease was found on a farm in Sioux County, Iowa, making it the latest in a years-long outbreak that is now also affecting dairy cattle. Last week, the virus was confirmed at an egg farm west of Minneapolis, Minnesota, leading to the culling of nearly 1.4 million chickens.
In total, 92.34 million birds have been killed since the outbreak began in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Although bird flu has become somewhat common among birds, its spread to livestock has increased concerns about the disease. In May, a second A dairy farm worker was diagnosed with bird flu, and the virus was detected in both beef It is milk. It has been confirmed on dairy farms in nine states.
Health and agriculture officials said the risk to the public remains low. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said meat from a single sick dairy cow was not allowed to enter the nation’s food supply and the beef remains safe to eat.
Workers exposed to infected animals are at greater risk. The only three confirmed human cases in the United States included two dairy workers and a man working to cull infected birds on a farm.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
