# 9984
It’s been 72 hours since our last APHIS update, and its obviously been a long and difficult weekend for poultry farmers and USDA officials across the Midwest, and so it comes as no surprise that we are starting to get reports this afternoon of additional farms infected with the H5N2 virus.
I expect we’ll get an update on the APHIS website after 5pm, but for now we have this report from the Iowa Department of Agriculture on 4 more `probable’ infections.
Of note, these four farms contain roughly 2.3 million birds, adding substantially to the economic carnage this virus has caused in Iowa.
FOUR PROBABLE CASES OF HIGHLY PATHOGENIC AVIAN INFLUENZA IN OSCEOLA, O’BRIEN AND SIOUX COUNTIES
Media Advisory:
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and USDA will host a press conference call at 3:15 p.m. on Monday, April 27, 2015 to discuss the additional avian influenza cases in Iowa.Call in number: 866-685-1580
Conference code: 5152818615FOUR PROBABLE CASES OF HIGHLY PATHOGENIC AVIAN INFLUENZA IN OSCEOLA, O’BRIEN AND SIOUX COUNTIES
CDC considers the risk to people to be lowDES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is responding to four probable cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry farms in Osceola, O’Brien and Sioux Counties in Northwest Iowa. These four new cases would join three confirmed cases of the disease in Iowa. State officials have quarantined the premises and if the initial test are confirmed, all birds on the property will be humanely euthanized to prevent the spread of the disease.
Osceola County 2 – Pullet farm with an estimated 250,000 birds. Initial testing showed it positive for H5 avian influenza. Additional confirmatory testing is pending from the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames.
O’Brien County 1 – Commercial laying operation with an estimated 240,000 birds that has experienced increased mortality. Initial testing showed it positive for H5 avian influenza. Additional confirmatory testing is pending from the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames.
O’Brien County 2 – Commercial laying operation with an estimated 98,000 birds that has experienced increased mortality. Initial testing showed it positive for H5 avian influenza. Additional confirmatory testing is pending from the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames.
Sioux County – Commercial laying operation with an estimated 1.7 million birds that has experienced increased mortality. Initial testing showed it positive for H5 avian influenza. Additional confirmatory testing is pending from the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Iowa Department of Public Health considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low. No human infections with the virus have ever been detected there is no food safety risk for consumers.
