The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has detected two cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in flocks in Keokuk and Van Buren counties.
IDALS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture categorize these flocks as multi-species backyard flocks. A spokesperson with IDALS said the Keokuk County flock had about 85 birds and the Van Buren County flock had about 45 birds.
These are the third and fourth HPAI outbreaks in Iowa in 2026. The previous two outbreaks were both in Kossuth County, one in a flock of chickens and game bird pheasants and the other at a mixed species game bird hatchery.
Iowa has not seen an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu in a commercial bird flock since the beginning of December 2025, when it was detected in a Hamilton County commercial turkey flock of nearly 18,000 birds.
According to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, the ongoing outbreak of the virus has impacted more than 195 million birds since the outbreak began in February 2022.
IDALS, in a news release about the recent detections, urged producers to continue practicing heightened biosecurity measures like reducing exposure to wild animals and limiting the number of people visiting a facility, to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Producers should also seek veterinarian care if they notice sudden bird deaths, lethargy, swollen heads, decreased or thin-shelled egg production or any other symptoms of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to rate the public health risk of HPAI as low as there is no known person-to-person spread.
