United States: A highly pathogenic avian influenza case has recently emerged, and it is associated with a large commercial production unit in Sioux County, Iowa.
In an interview with CBS News, the officials confirmed that the death toll had risen to 4.2 million birds that are infected to control the spread of the disease.
Details of the Outbreak
This bird flu was reported by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IADALS) and the ministry of USDA on Tuesday and was the first time bird flu was detected within the state in the current year.
The latest incident of the virus was identified in backyard mixed species in December, while the last attack on commercial egg-laying chickens had occurred in the same period in the current year in Sioux County, as CBS News highlighted.
According to Iowa Capital Dispatch, the most recent harmed flock comprised 4. 2 million chickens, the highest figure across a specific flock in the state, following 5.3 million birds that were affected by bird flu in Osceola County in 2012.
This also increased the total of the measures for the numbers of chickens in a specific flock to be affected by the virus this year according to the overall data from the USDA.
According to the US Department of Agriculture data (USDA) Iowa is the number one in egg production in the United States of America.
Official Statements and Actions
According to a state agriculture department statement confirming the total number of birds affected this week that “depopulation is ongoing,” CBS News reported.
The Dispatch also stated that a decision was made to conduct a mass kill off of the entire flock to avoid further spread and the carcasses disposed of properly. The steep loss provoked a disaster proclamation regarding the county by the governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, and the decision will last through June 27.
Avian flu also claimed an egg farm in Minnesota, which is a neighbor to Iowa’s north, last week which was one week before the most recent spread occurred affecting just under 1.4 million of the birds. For the same reason, 8,100 commercial turkey meat birds and breeder turkey hens were infected in the state of Minnesota.
According to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, since poultry is highly susceptible to fatality, chickens and turkeys are hit majorly by this highly pathogenic strain and “may have difficulty breathing or die suddenly.”