"This is a separate wild bird strain," Naig says. "It's not the dairy strain, and it's not the previous poultry strain. So, it's new and it's quite aggressive."

He says this strain is only affecting birds as of right now.

"It's not like this is affecting dairy cattle in other states and it's just not happening here yet," Naig says. "So that's maybe some good news. That it is confined just to the one species."

Cases have been identified in surrounding states including South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma. Naig says when birds get it they die quickly.

https://whoradio.iheart.com/featured/who-radio-news/content/2024-12-09-new-strain-of-bird-flu-detected-in-iowa/

WHO Radio News

New Strain of Bird Flu Detected in Iowa

ByDave Bohl, JD Snover

Dec 9, 2024

Photo: georgeclerk / E+ / Getty Images

(Undated) -- A new strain of bird flu has been detected in Iowa. A case was announced late last week, and another over the weekend.

Mike Naig is the state's Agriculture Secretary, and he says they're expecting more.

"This is a separate wild bird strain," Naig says. "It's not the dairy strain, and it's not the previous poultry strain. So, it's new and it's quite aggressive."

He says this strain is only affecting birds as of right now.

"It's not like this is affecting dairy cattle in other states and it's just not happening here yet," Naig says. "So that's maybe some good news. That it is confined just to the one species."

Cases have been identified in surrounding states including South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma. Naig says when birds get it they die quickly.

"It's just reminding us that we have got to be doubling down on bio security, but also watching and making sure we're keeping track and observing potent clinical signs," Naig says.