Iowa ( IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH ) - Nearly two dozen U.S. senators urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in a letter, to “prioritize” a vaccine strategy for the highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The virus has impacted more than 184 million commercial and backyard poultry birds and more than 1,000 head of dairy cattle since February 2022.

The letter comes as detections of the bird flu have increased over the winter months in states across the country, according to reporting from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

A case of bird flu was detected in Iowa Dec. 2, in a Hamilton County commercial turkey flock, and as recently as Tuesday in flocks in Indiana, North Dakota, Minnesota and Washington.

The bipartisan letter, which included Iowa Republicans Joni

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