A positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been confirmed in Pottawattamie County, Iowa.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says the virus was found in a non-commercial, backyard poultry flock. It?s the first case of avian influenza in Iowa since 2015.
?Extensive planning efforts have been underway since the outbreak of 2015 with our department, USDA, livestock producers and other stakeholders,? said Naig. ?It?s really important to note that high path detections in birds do not present an immediate public health concern. There?s no human cases that have been detected in the United States, and it remains safe to eat poultry products.?
Secretary Naig says the confirmed avian influenza case is unfortunate, but not unexpected.
?Given the size of the status of this flock as a non-commercial, backyard flock, there?s no trade or supply chain implications with this detection,? said Naig. ?The virus does appear to be very prevalent in wild birds, so the next few months during the northern migration in the Mississippi Flyway will be a time of high alert for all poultry owners. This is very important to all poultry owners regardless of scale, small backyard to large commercial scale.?
State Veterinarian Dr. Jeff Kaisand says depopulation of the contaminated flock in western Iowa has already taken place.
?After notification of any high path avian influenza case, we always immediately issue quarantine,? said Kaisand. ?The flock in question was immediately quarantined and we began looking at what was in the 10-kilometer surveillance zone. One thing that?s important here is we have not set up a control zone. We set up a surveillance zone because it?s a non-commercial flock.?
Dr. Kaisand added the flock in Pottawattamie County consisted of chickens and ducks. Secretary Naig noted that no action is being taken at this time regarding poultry shows and exhibitions during county fair season, but that the situation could change over the next few months.
