The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Feb. 19 detected a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Sac County, Iowa.
This is Iowa’s fourth detection of H5N1 HPAI within domestic birds in 2025.
H5N1 HPAI is a viral disease that affects both wild and domestic bird populations. H5N1 HPAI can travel in wild birds without those birds appearing sick, but is often fatal to domestic bird populations, including chickens and turkeys.
H5N1 HPAI can also impact dairy cattle, and 13 cases were detected in Iowa dairy herds in June of 2024. With supportive care, dairy herds recover with limited, or no mortality associated with the disease.
