Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says the state is getting closer to the end of the bird flu outbreak. There are just a few commercial poultry sites left to release from quarantine, and then they can bring in new birds.
Naig says that’s not the only step in recovery…(audio clip below :12 )
The process for lifting the quarantine involves cleaning and disinfecting the sites and then testing for the virus…(audio clip below :07 )
The U-S Ag Department pays producers for their bird losses and for cleaning and disinfecting their barns, but Naig says these payments don’t make producers whole.
More than 13 million birds in Iowa have died from the disease or been killed to stop it from spreading. The state had its last case of bird flu in early May. Four cases of bird flu were confirmed in Buena Vista County, all in the month of March, in three commercial turkey flocks, and one flock of commercial layer chickens. A flock of commercial turkeys was also infected in both Sac and Cherokee counties.
Last week, the Iowa Department of Agriculture lifted an order canceling live bird exhibitions that had been in effect since March 23rd.
(thanks to Radio Iowa for contributing)
