More bird flu found in Buena Vista County, Iowa, and Holt County, Nebraska

A deadly and highly contagious avian influenza was found in a commercial flock of about 35,500 turkeys in Buena Vista County, the fourth such detection in that county, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said Wednesday.

The rate of detection of the virus in Iowa has accelerated. So far there have been 10 in about a month, and half of them happened in the past week.

Buena Vista is the only county with multiple outbreaks so far, and its birds account for the vast majority that have been culled in Iowa this year because of the virus. Of the more than 8.1 million birds affected, about 5.5 million were in that county.

There’s no evidence that the latest infection was the result of virus transmission from one of the other affected flocks, said Chloe Carson, an ag department spokesperson. Preventing those site-to-site transmissions is a priority for state officials who are working to detect and contain the virus. Infected flocks are culled as quickly as possible after detections, and their carcasses are typically buried or composted on site.

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said Tuesday that infections might become more frequent as infected birds continue to migrate through the state. He said it’s possible the migration will last for two more months.

The virus is unlikely to infect humans. Eggs and meat from infected birds are destroyed.

The detections so far in Iowa this year include:

— March 1: A backyard flock of 42 chickens and ducks in Pottawattamie County.
— March 6: A commercial flock of about 50,000 turkeys in Buena Vista County.
— March 10: A commercial flock of about 916,000 egg-laying chickens in Taylor County.
— March 17: A commercial flock of about 5.3 million egg-laying chickens in Buena Vista County.
— March 20: A backyard flock of 11 chickens and ducks in Warren County.
— March 23: A commercial flock of about 54,000 turkeys in Buena Vista County.
— March 25: A commercial flock of about 250,000 young hens in Franklin County.
— March 28: A commercial flock of about 28,000 turkeys in Hamilton County.
— March 28: A commercial flock of about 1.5 million egg-laying chickens in Guthrie County.
— March 29: A commercial flock of about 35,500 turkeys in Buena Vista County.

In Nebraska, four flocks have been affected, according to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. The fourth report of an infection was confirmed Saturday:

— March 15: A small flock (100 or fewer) of chickens and waterfowl in Merrick County.

— March 22:  A commercial flock of 570,000 broilers in Butler County.

— March 24: A commercial flock of 400,000 broilers in Butler County.

— March 26: A small flock (50 or fewer) of chickens and waterfowl in Holt County.

Staff for the Nebraska Examiner contributed to this report. This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch, a sister site of the Nebraska Examiner in the States Newsroom Network.