Local egg facility hit with bird flu outbreak

A massive commercial egg-laying facility near Harris is sitting vacant for the second time in seven years thanks to an outbreak of bird flu.

According to Chloe Carson, communications director at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, 5 million birds were affected. All were destroyed, as per state and federal guidelines. She said regulations mandate the carcasses be composted or buried to reduce the risk of spreading of the virus.

Workers at the multi-building complex located north of Business Corner could be seen removing dead chickens throughout the weekend. The site was also hit with bird flu during an outbreak in 2015.

As of press deadline, Sioux Falls-based Sonstegard Foods Co., which owns the facility, had not responded to questions sent by the newspaper regarding the outbreak.

According to Carson, a control zone spanning a radius of 10 kilometers was implemented around the facility after the virus was confirmed on March 31. The order regulates movement at the affected site as well as poultry facilities inside the zone.

Once all dead birds are removed from the buildings, cleaning and disinfection will commence. Carson said the site would need to sit empty for five months, as per state and federal regulations.

So far more than a dozen states have confirmed the presence of bird flu this year. The outbreak has impacted 13 million birds in Iowa since the first case was discovered March 1 in a backyard flock in Pottawattamie County. As of Tuesday morning, counties with confirmed bird flu outbreaks include: Osceola, Pottawattamie, Buena Vista, Taylor, Warren, Franklin, Hamilton, Guthrie, Cherokee, Sac and Humboldt.

In 2015 the virus led to the destruction of 32.7 million birds in Iowa. Nationally, that number tallied 50.5 million. The Hawkeye State leads the nation in egg production with 55 million laying hens and ranks seventh nationally for annual turkey production with 12 million birds.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has been declaring disaster proclamations in counties with confirmed cases of the virus. The orders allow for state resources from Iowa Homeland Security, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and other agencies to assist with "tracking and monitoring, rapid detection, containment, disposal and disinfection."

Bird flu is a highly contagious, viral disease that affects all bird populations. It can travel in wild birds without those birds appearing sick, but is often fatal to domestic bird populations, including chickens and turkeys. The virus can spread through droppings or nasal discharge of an infected bird, which can contaminate dust and soil.