Nebraska has had its second confirmed case of H5N2 avian influenza, while the number of avian influenza cases in Iowa has grown by four, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported on May 18.
APHIS confirmed the presence of H5N2 avian influenza in a layer flock of 1.6 million chickens in Dixon County, Nebraska. This is the same county as Nebraska’s first case, confirmed May 12 in a layer flock of 1.7 million.
The latest Nebraska case follows a state of emergency declaration issued by Gov. Pete Ricketts, who announced the declaration following the discovery of the state’s first confirmed avian influenza case.
Four more avian influenza cases in Iowa
Iowa has had four new highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza cases confirmed by APHIS. Those cases are:
- Buena Vista County – Layer flock of 903,700 chickens, 14th detection in the county
- Sioux County – Layer flock of 240,000 chickens, 13th detection in the county
- Sioux County – Layer flock of 272,300 chickens, 14th detection in the county
- Plymouth County – Layer flock of 100,000 chickens, first detection in the county
The affected premises have been quarantined and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. With the five new avian influenza cases, more than 36.9 million birds have been affected by avian influenza in 2015, according to APHIS.
To track confirmed cases of the North American avian influenza outbreak, see WATTAgNet's avian influenza tracker map and bookmark the avian influenza update page for news about and analysis of avian influenza.
