5.3 million Iowa laying hens to be destroyed in bird flu outbreak

About 5.3 million laying hens in northwest Iowa will be destroyed after tests confirmed a second outbreak of avian influenza in the state, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday.

It's the largest operation in the nation to be hit with the virus since December, federal documents show. The commercial egg-laying facility, located in Osceola County, more than doubles the number of birds destroyed so far in the country because of the disease.

"It's one of the bigger farms in the state," said Bill Northey, Iowa's secretary of agriculture. "But when there's an outbreak like this, you have to make sure the disease doesn't leave."

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Because of avian influenza, the state's $2 billion commercial egg-laying industry has been on high alert this spring. Iowa, the nation's largest egg producer, has about 50 million hens and supplies nearly 1 in every 5 eggs consumed in the United States.

"Anybody that has a poultry operation — whether large or small, whether you've got hundreds of birds or one bird — this should be a wake-up call," said Randy Olson, executive director of the Iowa Poultry Association.

Despite its virulent nature, officials say, the virus doesn't pose a danger to humans or to the food supply.

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Last week, H5N2 avian influenza was discovered in a flock of 27,000 turkeys in Buena Vista County. Those birds also were euthanized to contain the spread.

Before Monday's announcement, more than 2.6 million birds had been killed by the disease or by authorities working to prevent it from spreading.

The virus is capable of killing an entire flock within 48 hours.

The names of the Iowa operators or their locations haven't been released. Olson said the family-owned operation in Osceola County provided liquid eggs for use in baked goods.

The virus' spread

Scientists and government officials believe the virus is being spread through migratory birds in the Mississippi flyway, where the strain previously has been identified. The birds are believed to transmit the illness through their droppings.

The disease has been discovered at more than 50 sites across the country in several states, including Arkansas, Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

The turkey industry has been hit the hardest, with 2.4 million birds destroyed.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has declared a state of emergency over the bird flu outbreak and authorized the state's National Guard to help contain the disease. Avian influenza virus has been detected in three Wisconsin poultry flocks, affecting tens of thousands of chickens and turkeys, Walker's office said.

Federal and state health officials consider the risk to people to be low from these infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry. No human infections with the virus have ever been detected.

"Facilities have been very concerned about biosecurity," limiting deliveries and other access to facilities, Northey said. "We're hopeful these remain isolated cases. But there's no good way to know what will happen."

The northwest Iowa flock experienced increased mortality and samples were sent to the South Dakota State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for preliminary testing, the USDA said. The National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames confirmed the findings.

The facility and poultry facilities within 10 kilometers have been quarantined. State officials will test commercial and backyard poultry in the area for the disease to determine that they're free of the virus.

Market impact limited

While the outbreak is crushing for the producer, it's expected to have a limited effect on the egg market, say Iowa State University economists.

While the United States has seen itself shut out of some markets in the past when an outbreak occurs, so far most major buyers of American eggs have decided to keep buying products from unaffected areas, rather than shutting out the entire country, said Dermot Hayes, an Iowa State University agribusiness economist.

"I don't see this as being a big deal at this point," Hayes said.

David Swenson, another ISU economist, said Osceola County posted total agricultural sales of $163.5 million in 2013, with poultry and egg production accounting for only 4 percent of that figure.

Still, the loss of 5.3 million hens is "a big deal for that producer and a big deal for however that operation is configured," Swenson said. "But poultry production up in that county is a small fraction of total agricultural output."

The federal government is expected to help producers with part of the losses from the disease.

Hayes expressed concern that despite all the biosecurity measures put in place in recent years in agriculture, it was a "surprise" that migratory birds "somehow managed to contaminate" the facility.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Public Health said they will work directly with poultry workers at the affected facility to ensure proper precautions are being taken, the USDA said.