Authorities in Iowa have announced that over 4 million chickens will need to be euthanized following the detection of a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu at a large egg farm in Sioux County. This recent case is part of a larger outbreak that has been ongoing for several years and has now started affecting dairy cattle as well.
The affected farm in Iowa is currently in the process of culling 4.2 million chickens to prevent the further spread of the disease. Last week, a similar situation occurred at an egg farm in Minnesota, where nearly 1.4 million chickens had to be slaughtered after the virus was confirmed.
Since the beginning of the outbreak in 2022, a total of 92.34 million birds have been culled across the United States, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
While bird flu is not uncommon in poultry, the recent spread to cattle has raised concerns among health and agriculture officials. The virus has been detected in dairy cattle farms in nine states, with two dairy farmworkers having been diagnosed with the disease in recent months.
Despite these developments, authorities have emphasized that the risk to the general public remains low. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed that meat from infected animals has not entered the food supply chain, and beef products continue to be safe for consumption.
Individuals who work closely with infected animals, such as farmworkers, are at a higher risk of contracting the virus. To date, only three human cases of bird flu have been confirmed in the United States, involving two dairy workers and one individual involved in the culling of infected poultry.
