High path avian influenza has hit Iowa, again. This week, there are two confirmed cases, one in a turkey flock and another in a commercial layer flock.
A total of almost 1.5 million birds were affected. To date, more than 17 million birds have been affected nationwide.
As new cases mount, there are some signs of hope. This outbreak has not affected as many birds as the devastating 2015 event. One expert with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says that producers are not only doing a better job of biosecurity, but they have been much better about rapid reporting of sick birds, and lab testing and confirmation is a lot faster too.
According to Dr. Rosemary Sifford, “We are also faster at moving in and being able to depopulate the birds quickly. The companies and the states have added equipment and either staff or contractors available to do that kind of work, as well as we’ve added that kind of equipment and contractors to our national veterinary stockpile, and we have those resources staged in different places around the country. So that we’re more able to quickly respond.”
The virus has been detected in about eighteen states.
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The poultry industry could face a lengthy recovery following HPAI outbreak