New bird flu cases probable in Iowa, millions of birds affected: Iowa

(This April 27, 2015 story was refiled to correct the seventh paragraph to show that the USDA corrects to chicken farm from turkey farm.)

Initial tests have found probable avian influenza outbreaks at five new commercial poultry sites in Iowa, affecting more than 6 million birds, the state's agriculture department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday.

Additional tests are pending to confirm the highly pathogenic H5N2 that is rapidly spreading, agency officials said. Positive results would push the outbreak's national tally to more than 15.1 million affected birds from commercial flocks in 13 states.

In the avian influenza outbreak of 1983 to 1984 in the northeast, which was the largest in U.S. history, about 17 million birds were culled.

"This is a big deal," Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said during a conference call on Monday. "Going forward, the question is are we done? Or does this mean more birds as we go forward."

Iowa state officials have quarantined the five farm sites, Northey said. Positive test results would mean that more than 9.5 million birds in Iowa have been affected by the virus.

Iowa farms, on average, house an estimated 60 million egg-laying hens, Northey said.

Also on Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that a Wisconsin egg-laying chicken farm with more than 1 million birds has tested positive for the virus. More than 1.9 million commercial production chickens and turkeys in Wisconsin have been affected by H5N2, state and federal officials have said.

1 posted on 04/28/2015 7:22:27 AM PDT by Citizen Zed

Them south American birds yearning for a better life and dreaming of what can be.

2 posted on 04/28/2015 7:24:00 AM PDT by Gaffer

Now you can expect poultry and pork to join beef in the higher than hell category

3 posted on 04/28/2015 7:26:03 AM PDT by traderrob6

Now you can expect poultry and pork to join beef in the higher than hell category

Yup. Say goodbye to those $1.99/lb boneless-skinless chicken breasts. Stock up the freezer now.

4 posted on 04/28/2015 8:29:29 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts ("It is never untimely to yank the rope of freedom's bell." - - Frank Capra)

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