Iowa, Minnesota report more avian flu; bird-show bans spread

Wednesday, June 3, 2015
By Paul Martin

Robert Roos
CIDRAP News
Jun 02, 2015

Beleaguered Iowa and Minnesota reported three more avian flu outbreaks between them today, while Ohio and Michigan joined the list of states banning all bird shows and sales in an effort to squelch the virus.

In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today issued recommendations for responding to any human infections with the novel avian flu viruses. No such cases have been reported so far.

Two Iowa outbreaks, one in Minnesota
Iowa officials reported two probable avian flu outbreaks, with initial tests showing an H5 virus on a Clay County farm with an estimated 1.1 million pullets and a Hamilton County farm with an estimated 18,000 turkeys. Confirmatory test results from the US Department of Agriculture are awaited, said the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS).

The agency said the outbreaks are the second in each county. Yesterday, however, the agency listed another Hamilton County turkey outbreak as that county’s second one.

Iowa has had 71 outbreaks (62 confirmed) in 17 counties, affecting about 28 million chickens and 1.2 million turkeys, according to IDALS data.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (MDPS) today announced yet another turkey-farm outbreak in the state’s hardest-hit county, Kandiyohi, raising the number of affected farms there to 39. The agency said an estimate of the size of the affected flock is pending.

With the new outbreak, Minnesota’s count of stricken farms increased to 104 in 23 counties, the DPS said. Birds on 96 of the farms have been euthanized, and carcass disposal is complete on 52 of them, the agency reported.

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