More than 4 million chickens in Iowa had to be killed after highly pathogenic bird flu was found on an egg farm, state officials announced Tuesday.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said H5N1 bird flu The virus was detected in a large commercial chicken flock in Sioux County, in the state’s first case of bird flu this year.
A department official told The Hill that the affected flock contains about 4.2 million chickens.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) subsequently signed a disaster proclamation for Sioux County, which will remain in effect until June 27, his office said. The proclamation allows state resources to be allocated for tracking, detecting, containing, disposing of, and disinfecting the virus.
The current outbreak of bird flu began in 2022 and has primarily impacted the poultry industry, although its recent spread has begun to infect dairy cattle in the US as well.
Avian influenza was first detected in dairy cows in March, although data from viral samples shows it was circulating in cattle at least four months earlier and caused a drop in milk production.
More than 92 million birds have been killed since 2022, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC has confirmed outbreaks in 67 flocks in nine states, and as of Tuesday, the virus has been detected in more than 9,300 wild birds in 50 states.
There have been a total of three cases of bird flu detected in humans after exposure to poultry and dairy products since 2022. The first was detected in Colorado in 2022, followed by a case in Texas last month and one in Michigan last week.
The most recent case in Michigan was detected in a farmworker who had mild symptoms and has since recovered, health officials said.
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