Bird flu hits a northwest Iowa flock with 42,000 turkeys

AI-assisted summary

Bird flu has reemerged in Iowa, leading to the destruction of a 42,000-bird turkey flock.

The current outbreak, ongoing since 2022, has affected nearly 179 million birds nationally and has also spread to dairy cows.

Iowa, a top egg and turkey producer, has lost nearly 31 million birds since the current outbreak began.

Bird flu has returned with the fall migration, hitting a northwest Iowa turkey flock and forcing the destruction of about 42,000 birds, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture.

The highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak that hit the commercial Calhoun County turkey operation is the first in the state since April 10, when the virus infected a backyard flock in Hardin County with 410 mixed-species birds, the department said Thursday, Oct. 2.