Bird Flu Spread Concerns Will Lead to Killing of Other 1,5 Million Chickens and Turkeys in Iowa

Bird Flu Spread Concerns Will Lead to Killing of Other 1,5 Million Chickens and Turkeys in Iowa
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Bird flu spread is once again raising concerns in the US. Also known as avian influenza, the disease can be highly dangerous if it passes to humans. However, human cases of infections with the virus remain very rare.

Just almost two weeks ago, we were speaking about the drastic measure of killing more than 5 million poultry in Iowa over fears of bird flu spread.

Two more bird flu outbreaks will lead to the sacrifice of 1.5 million birds

Other 1.5 million chickens and 28,000 turkeys from Iowa will be killed after two more outbreaks were reported in the American state, according to FoxBusiness.com.

Since January, more than 15.6 million chickens were killed in the US because of bird flu outbreaks.

As for the possible transmission of bird flu between poultry and humans, here’s what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has to say::

More than 700 human infections with Asian HPAI H5N1 viruses have been reported to WHO from primarily 15 countries in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, Europe and the Near East since November 2003. Indonesia, Vietnam and Egypt have reported the highest number of human HPAI Asian H5N1 cases to date.

As for the subtypes of avian influenza viruses, there are many of them. We humans should fear only some strains of five subtypes that are capable of infecting us: H5N1, H7N3, H7N9, H7N7, and H9N2.

Just like in the case of seasonal flu, certain groups of people are more likely to develop serious illnesses from bird flu: pregnant women, those who surpass 65 years of age, and those with weakened immune systems.

Avian influenza virus can spread among chickens very easily, so there’s no wonder why people consider killing the infected animals as well as those from an infected area.


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Even since he was a child, Cristian was staring curiously at the stars, wondering about the Universe and our place in it. Today he's seeing his dream come true by writing about the latest news in astronomy. Cristian is also glad to be covering health and other science topics, having significant experience in writing about such fields.

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