Farmers must kill 4.2 million chickens after bird flu hits Iowa egg farm

DES MOINES, Iowa — More than four million chickens in Iowa will have to be killed after a case of the highly contagious bird flu was discovered at a large egg farm, the state announced Tuesday.

Emergency crews are in the process of culling 4.2 million chickens after the disease was detected on a farm in Sioux County, Iowa. It is the latest outbreak in a years-long outbreak that is now affecting dairy cows. Last week, the virus was confirmed on an egg farm west of Minneapolis, Minnesota, leading to the slaughter of nearly 1.4 million chickens.

In total, 92.34 million birds have been killed since the outbreak began in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Although bird flu is relatively common in poultry, its spread to cattle has increased concerns about the disease. In May, a second dairy worker was diagnosed with bird flu, and the virus has been detected in both beef and milk. It has been confirmed on dairy farms in nine states.

Health and agriculture officials have said the risk to the public remains low. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said meat from a single diseased dairy cow should not enter the nation’s food supply and that beef remains safe to eat.

Workers who have contact with infected animals are at higher risk. The only three cases confirmed in humans in the United States involved two workers at a dairy and a man who slaughtered infected birds at a poultry farm.