Two new cases of Avian Influenza identified in northwestern Iowa

DES MOINES — The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has identified two new separate cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in northwestern Iowa.

Late Friday afternoon, the department said a case had been detected in a flock of commercial layer chickens in Sioux County. On Sunday, the department said it detected a case in a commercial turkey flock in Palo Alto County.

It’s the fourth and fifth detections within poultry in 2024, and the cases were the first detected since the month of June. Avian Influenza is a viral disease that affects both wild and domestic bird populations.

It can travel in wild birds without those birds appearing sick, but is often fatal to domestic bird populations, including chickens and wild turkeys.

Avian Influenza also impacted 13 dairy herds in Iowa earlier this year. With supportive care, dairy herds recover with no or limited mortality associated with the disease.