Iowa bird flu adds to poultry worries

Four new cases of bird flu at Iowa turkey farms in the past few days will push the number of birds slaughtered nationwide this month to nearly 700,000.

The latest cases announced by the Iowa Department of Agriculture only add to the toll of this year’s ongoing outbreak, which has prompted officials overall to kill more than 53 million birds in 47 states including Arkansas.

Anytime the virus is found, the entire flock is killed to help control the disease.

Iowa officials said the latest cases found since Friday involved 240,000 birds on turkey farms in the northwest corner of the state. Iowa leads all states with nearly 16 million chickens and turkeys slaughtered this year — more than double the next closest state of Nebraska — largely because it is the nation’s largest egg producer, and egg farms can include millions of chickens.

Several other bird flu cases have been confirmed this month at other turkey farms in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota and Missouri. An upland-game bird producer in Colorado also had to slaughter 18,000 birds to limit the spread of the virus.

In Arkansas, a third case of avian influenza was confirmed in December in a backyard hobby flock of turkeys, chickens and quail in Arkansas County. Cases of avian flu in the state began popping up in October.

The first case in Arkansas was detected Oct. 7 in a commercial poultry farm in Madison County, and 56,300 birds were killed; this was the first case in commercial poultry in Arkansas since the 2015 outbreak. The second case of avi

an flu was confirmed in Pope County in a flock of 300 birds.

Experts believe the virus causing bird flu is spread primarily by wild birds as they migrate across the country.

The virus spreads easily through droppings or the nasal discharge of an infected bird, which can contaminate dust and soil and be carried onto farms on boots and clothing or on truck tires.

Although wild birds can often carry avian influenza without developing symptoms, the virus has killed a large number of eagles, vultures, ducks and other wild birds.

Farmers take measures such as requiring workers to change clothes before entering barns and sanitizing trucks as they enter the farm, but the disease is difficult to control.

This year’s outbreak is different than most because the virus found a way to linger throughout the summer, when warmer temperatures usually largely kill off the virus.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture resumed reporting large numbers of birds infected in September, when more than 6 million birds had to be killed. That was followed by another 2 million in October and nearly 4 million more in November.

Bird flu viruses typically don’t affect people, but rare cases of human infection have been reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency says personto-person transmission of the viruses proves even more rare and have spread only among a few people. Properly cooking poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill any viruses.

The bird flu outbreak — combined with the soaring fuel and feed costs — has driven up the prices of eggs, chicken and turkey.