Branstad declares state of emergency over bird flu

Gov. Terry Branstad declared a state of emergency Friday, with nearly 17 million chickens and turkeys dead, dying or scheduled to be euthanized because of a widening bird flu outbreak.

The proclamation, in effect until May 31 unless terminated earlier, activates disaster response and recovery procedures for the state's homeland security and emergency management personnel. It also authorizes use of state resources, supplies, equipment and materials to track and monitor bird flu, establish restrictions around affected farms and assist in the rapid detection of cases.

It also allows state agencies to help in the disposal of poultry carcasses, an increasing problem in a state where about 27 percent of its 60 million egg-laying chickens will be wiped out.

Iowa is the nation's leading egg producer, providing one of every five eggs consumed in the country. The state is ninth in turkey production and has lost well over 110,000 turkeys. The state now has 21 cases of the H5N2 virus in 10 counties.

"This is a magnitude much greater than anything we've dealt with in recent modern times," Branstad said.

Overall, the outbreak has led to Midwest chicken and turkey producers losing more than 21 million birds. Minnesota, which has lost some 4 million birds in 19 counties this spring, declared a state of emergency earlier this week.

Four additional farms were added Friday to the Iowa list of those with probable disease outbreaks, including a second turkey farm in Sac County and turkey farms in Pocahontas and Cherokee counties.

Madison County, located southwest of Des Moines, is the only county affected that isn't in northwest Iowa. An egg-laying chicken farm with 1 million birds had a positive preliminary test.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey said it's important to step up the state's response now.

"Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of everyone to slow the spread of the disease, outbreaks are continuing to appear," he said.

State officials have developed expanded biosecurity guidelines that ask poultry farmers to treat all commercial chicken and turkey farms as potential positive sites and implement strict controls on traffic, personnel and feed.

Northey directed farms to disinfect all vehicles and consider any person on site "something that needs disinfected so as not to spread the virus within the site."

RELATED: What the bird flu disaster proclamation says

Authorities have asked producers not to give chickens or turkeys kept in largely enclosed barns feed that is stored outside. Spilled feed should be cleaned up to avoid attracting wild birds, which researchers have suggested first dropped the virus on the farms during migration.

He said that as biosecurity is increased and the weather turns warmer, officials hope the virus will die off.

Branstad said the declaration better positions Iowa to react to more outbreaks.

"While the avian influenza outbreak does not pose a risk to humans, we are taking the matter very seriously and believe declaring a state of emergency is the best way to make all resources available," Branstad said in a statement. "We'll continue our work — as we've been doing since the first outbreak in Buena Vista County — in hopes of stopping the virus' aggressive spread throughout Iowa."

The proclamation includes:

• Activating the disaster response and recovery portions of the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department's Iowa Emergency Response Plan.

• Authorizing the deployment of state resources, supplies, equipment and materials deemed necessary by Northey to monitor the virus, detect new cases, contain the spread and lessen the risk of disease.

• Temporarily authorizing the Iowa Homeland Security, the Iowa Department of Transportation, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Department of Public Health, other state agencies and local law enforcement agencies and private contractors to remove and dispose of live animals and animal carcasses on publicly or privately owned land when they threaten public health or safety.

• Authorizing those agencies to implement movement and loading restrictions and other control zone measures, including buffer zones, checkpoints and cleaning and disinfecting operations at checkpoints and borders surrounding any quarantine areas to stop the spread of this contagious disease.

• Authorizing state agencies to assist in disinfection, depopulation and livestock carcass disposal efforts.

• Temporarily waiving restrictions to allow for timely and efficient disposal of poultry carcasses.

• Temporarily suspending regulatory provisions for commercial vehicle drivers hauling poultry carcasses infected avian influenza.