Iowa bird flu case forces killing of nearly 54,000 turkeys

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa agriculture officials have confirmed another case of bird flu in a commercial turkey farm in northwest Iowa. Official on Thursday said the outbreak in Buena Vista County will require the killing of nearly 54,000 turkeys. It’s the third case of avian influenza in the county, following a March 6 case that led to the killing of nearly 50,000 turkeys and an infection found March 17 that resulted in the killing of 5.3 million egg-laying hens. Iowa has had one other commercial egg-laying chicken farm affected in Taylor County, which involved 915,000 birds. Two other Iowa cases involved backyard birds. U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows 17 states have confirmed cases in commercial or backyard flocks.