Iowa DNR announces uptick in avian flu detections

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced Friday it has seen a “sharp jump” in cases of the highly pathogenic avian flu in wild birds this month after “nearly a year” with no detections of the virus. The news release from DNR follows a week of outbreaks of the bird flu in commercial turkey and layer chicken flocks in Sioux, Palo Alto and Sac counties. At this time, a link between the wild bird detections and those in commercial flocks cannot be proven, though additional analysis of the genetic material could show a link. The department saw an “uptick” in avian flu detections in mid-November from routine swabbing of healthy ducks collected by hunters, and just recently began to respond to calls of sick or dead geese. The cases have primarily been detected north of Interstate 80.