BackBird flu suspected in 9.5 million egg-laying chickens, says Iowa
Flocks with some 9.5 million egg-layers are confirmed positive for the virus or are presumed to have it, says Iowa secretary of agriculture
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Chicago: Flocks housing as much as 16% of egg- laying chickens in Iowa, the biggest US egg producer, may be infected with the bird flu sweeping through US poultry farms.
Flocks with some 9.5 million egg-layers are confirmed positive for the virus or are presumed to have it, Bill Northey, Iowa secretary of agriculture, said on a conference call with reporters on Monday. The state has 59.5 million layers, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
With millions of birds ravaged by the disease this year, US farms are stepping up clean-up efforts and Minnesota governor Mark Dayton declared a state of emergency. At stake is the roughly $44 billion made from poultry and eggs produced in the US, the latest government figures show. The outbreak, the worst in three decades, has prompted poultry buyers from Europe to Asia to place restrictions on American shipments.
Avian flu has been found primarily in commercial turkey flocks, particularly in Minnesota, where abundant waterways attract wild geese and ducks, suspected of carrying the disease. Egg-laying hens in neighbouring Wisconsin have also been infected.
Highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza was confirmed in six more flocks in Iowa, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the USDA said in a statement Monday. Bloomberg
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