More than 5 million hens will be euthanized after bird flu was detected at a commercial laying facility in northwest Iowa, officials said Monday.
The facility is in Osceola County and has a total of 5.3 million hens.
“State officials quarantined the premise and birds on the property will be humanely euthanized to prevent the spread of the disease,” the Iowa Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, close to 8 million cases of bird flu have been detected in 13 states since December.
More than 7 million of those cases have been confirmed this month. Most are from commercial poultry farms.
“The farm started noticing increased mortality in flock last Friday. It sent samples to the South Dakota State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. The preliminary tests were positive for H5N2 avian influenza. Those samples were sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, where it was confirmed,” said Dustin Vande Hoef with the Iowa Department of Agriculture.
The specific facility in Iowa was not identified. It’s the second confirmed case in the state. The first was found in a commercial turkey flock in Buena Vista County.
Health officials say there is little to no risk for transmission to humans with respect to H5N2. No human infections with the virus have ever been detected.
