Virus at farm means 5.3 million hens must die

DES MOINES, Iowa — Up to 5.3 million hens at an Iowa farm must be destroyed after the infectious and deadly bird flu virus was confirmed, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday.

The farm in northwest Iowa’s Osceola County has nearly10 percent of the state’s egg-laying hens. Iowa produces nearly 1 in every 5 eggs consumed in the country. Several Midwestern states have been affected, costing turkey and chicken producers nearly 7.8 million birds since March.