The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced July 21 that the last commercial Iowa poultry farm has been released from highly pathogenic avian influenza quarantine restrictions. The restrictions prohibited the movement of poultry and poultry products on or off the affected premises, and were lifted after the farm cleared all HPAI testing protocols and quarantine requirements.

“Reaching this important milestone allows impacted farmers to turn the page from responding to the outbreak to repopulating flocks and returning to turkey and poultry production,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “This year’s outbreak was thankfully much smaller than the one in 2015, in large part due to the lessons learned and positive changes implemented by farmers, our team at the Iowa Department of Agriculture, and USDA. Moving forward, we will work with partners to assess this year’s response to ensure that we are even better prepared for any future disease challenges that may arise.”

The latest site released from quarantine is a commercial turkey farm in Bremer County. The requirements for release include, but are not limited to, cleaning, disinfection and environmental sampling of the infected premises.

“The lifting of the final quarantine is cause to celebrate the great work and collaboration between Iowa’s poultry farmers, USDA and the Iowa Department of Agriculture,” said Kevin Stiles, executive director of the North Central Poultry Association. “We have been reassured by the response throughout the outbreak, but also are appreciative of the collective efforts from all involved. The planning and preparation over the last five to seven years played an important role in Iowa being better prepared to meet the challenges of this outbreak.”

“Since February, HPAI has impacted U.S. poultry farmers. This announcement, lifting the last commercial site quarantine in Iowa, is great news,” said Gretta Irwin, Iowa Turkey Federation executive director. “The fact that in 2022, Iowa had nine HPAI turkey cases, instead of the 71 in 2015, shows that proactive plans and focused changes by Iowa’s turkey farmers helped to reduce the number of cases.”

Quarantines remain in effect on four backyard flock sites and will be lifted as requirements for release are met.

About the outbreak

HPAI, a highly contagious, viral disease affecting bird populations, was confirmed at 19 poultry sites across the state, including 15 commercial sites and four backyard sites in early 2022. HPAI can travel in wild birds without those birds appearing sick, but it 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 and 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.

Source: The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, which is responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and its subsidiaries aren’t responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.