The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and U.S. Department of Agriculture have announced that a turkey farm that was infected with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has started restocking their barn with birds. The farm completed the cleaning and disinfection process and has negative environmental tests.
They have also announced they are begining the process of lifting 69 of the 77 control zones that were established around premises in Iowa infected with HPAI.
All premises that had poultry that were located within a 10 kilometer control zone surrounding an infected site were quarantined and all movement of poultry and poultry products, feed, fuel, etc. in and out of those quarantined non-infected premises had to be permitted by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
In addition, all premises containing poultry infected with HPAI were quarantined. This announcement does not affect the status of any premise that had a confirmed case of avian influenza; it only impacts those sites that were not infected but were within the 10 kilometer control zone.
To be eligible for the control zone to be lifted 60 days must have elapsed since the poultry located on the infected premises that caused the control zone to be established were depopulated or 21 days must have elapsed since cleaning and disinfection were completed on the infected premise.
Since April 13, 2015, there have been 77 total premises and 34 million birds affected with H5N2 HPAI in Iowa. There are 35 commercial turkey flocks, 22 commercial egg production flocks, 13 pullet flocks, 1 breeding flock for a mail order hatchery, and 6 backyard flocks.