The officials said on Monday that an entire flock of 2.75 million egg-laying chickens in the US state of Wisconsin will be killed to prevent the spread of a lethal form of bird flu. This is after a highly pathogenic and lethal avian influenza virus is now spreading across the U.S.
On Friday, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced that the deadly avian influenza was detected in a commercial flock of laying hens in southwest Iowa’s Taylor County, and according to the KCCI Des Moines report, it’s the third outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu reported in the state of Iowa in less than a month.
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In response to the confirmed positive case of bird flu, Taylor County has been issued a disaster proclamation by Gov. Kim Reynold.
“While this additional case of HPAI is not unexpected, we have prepared for this and are working closely with USDA and livestock producers to control and eradicate this disease from our state,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said. “This is a difficult time for poultry producers. We will continue to support them and emphasize the need for strict biosecurity on farms and around poultry to help prevent the spread of this disease.”
According to the Des Moines Register report:
The Iowa Department of Agriculture said Friday it has confirmed an outbreak of avian influenza in a commercial egg-laying operation in Taylor County, a southwestern county located on the Missouri border.
The state said nearly 920,000 laying hens would be destroyed to prevent the spread of the disease that’s highly contagious to other birds.
Iowa has experienced two other outbreaks of the virus as it also spreads in other states across the U.S. Officials confirmed the first outbreak March 1, when a backyard flock of 42 chickens and ducks tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza; and on Sunday, when 50,000 turkeys in a commercial facility in Buena Vista County tested positive for the virus.
State and federal agencies said none of the birds nor any poultry products from flocks where avian influenza is detected will reach U.S. food supplies. No human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been detected in the United States.
In Jefferson County, Wisconsin, a large flock of chickens will be destroyed to prevent the spread of bird flu, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection said Monday.
Patch new also reported:
A confirmed case of highly pathogenic avian influenza was discovered in the flock after tests were conducted at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, officials said.
The culling of the flock will affect 2.75 million chickens, bringing the total number of chickens killed because of the bird flu in the United States since February to 6.7 million, according to Reuters.
It’s the first confirmed case of the bird flu in Wisconsin since 2015, state officials said, and the outbreak follows similar outbreaks in Kansas and Illinois, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
As the bird flu spreads across the country, American people can expect that the prices of eggs around the country will increase.
US egg prices rise as deadly bird flu strikes ahead of Easter https://t.co/18izFsgM4a
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) March 18, 2022
Sources: The Gateway Pundit, Reuters, Yahoo Sports, ABC News, Independent, Patch, Des Moines Register