DES MOINES, Iowa—The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship this week released three Iowa poultry sites from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) quarantine restrictions. The restrictions prohibited the movement of poultry and poultry products on or off the affected premises and were lifted on May 16 after these sites were cleared from HPAI.

“This is a notable step forward in our state’s collaborative response to avian influenza, but our work is not done,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “I am extremely proud of our ability to move quickly to implement our response plans that minimize virus spread, protect the health of Iowa’s poultry flocks and ensure farmers can continue farming. Moving forward, the Iowa Department of Agriculture, along with USDA, producers and other industry stakeholders will continue efforts to effectively manage this outbreak.”

The sites released from quarantine include: a commercial pullet site in Franklin County, a commercial turkey site in Hamilton County and a site of commercial breeding chickens in Humboldt County, Iowa. Quarantines will be lifted on remaining sites as requirements for release are met. These requirements include, but are not limited to, cleaning, disinfection and environmental sampling of the infected premises.

“For over 25 years Iowa’s turkey farmers and poultry industry leaders have worked on response plans with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the USDA to prepare for detection and steps to end Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Iowa’s poultry flocks,” said Iowa Turkey Federation Executive Director Gretta Irwin. “The Department has communicated expectations to the farmers through presentations and tabletop exercises.  Because of this inclusive process, Iowa’s turkey farmers know the process for eradicating this virus. The quarantine releases this week demonstrate the effectiveness of response plans.”

“We are extremely pleased that we are beginning to see quarantines lifted and repopulation of flocks slated to occur in the near future. This step leads us to celebrate the efforts made on behalf of farmers, in partnership with USDA and IDALS animal health officials,” said Iowa Poultry Association Executive Director, Kevin Stiles.

About the Outbreak
HPAI, a highly contagious, viral disease affecting bird populations, has been confirmed at 19 poultry sites across the state, including 15 commercial sites and four backyard sites. HPAI can travel in wild birds without those birds appearing sick, but is often fatal to domestic bird populations, including chickens and turkeys.

Bird owners, whether commercial or backyard, should remain vigilant in their biosecurity practices preventing contact between their birds and wild birds and reporting sick birds or unusual deaths to state/federal officials. Biosecurity resources and best practices are available at iowaagriculture.gov/biosecurity. If producers suspect signs of HPAI in their flocks, they should contact their veterinarian immediately. Possible cases must also be reported to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at (515) 281-5305.

For updates on this developing situation, please visit https://iowaagriculture.gov/animal-industry-bureau/avian-influenza.

Commercial and Backyard HPAI Detections in Iowa

(contributed press release)