1.1 million commercial egg laying hens were lost in the latest case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Iowa.
The case was confirmed on October 31 in Wright County. It was earlier announced by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship that HPAI was confirmed on the premises, but it was not until November 3 that the size of the affected flock was disclosed. That information can be found on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website.
This is Wright County’s first HPAI case in 2022. However, Iowa has now had 16 commercial poultry farms affected by HPAI in 2022, with bird losses approaching 14.5 million. Nationwide, more than 47.5 million birds have been lost to HPAI so far in 2022.
Prior to this case, the last case of HPAI in Iowa was confirmed on April 20 when the virus was detected in a Bremer County turkey flock.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the state had anticipated the return of HPAI to the state’s commercial poultry flcks.
““With HPAI continuing to be a significant threat across the country, this is a difficult and stressful time for poultry farmers and egg producers,” said Naig. “We have been preparing for the possibility of additional outbreaks and are working closely with USDA and producers to eradicate this disease from our state. With migration ongoing, we continue to emphasize the need for strict biosecurity on poultry farms and around backyard flocks to help prevent and limit the spread of this destructive virus.”
Before the Wright County case, the last commercial egg operation to be affected by HPAI in the United States was confirmed on September 21, with that flock located in Weld County, Colorado.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
Read our ongoing coverage of the global avian influenza outbreak.
