Bird flu hits Iowa farm, more than 5 million hens will be euthanized

A chicken.
(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

More than five million hens at an Iowa commercial laying facility will be euthanized, following the discovery of bird flu on the premises, officials said.

In a statement, the Iowa Department of Agriculture said that the facility has been quarantined, and the birds will be "humanely euthanized to prevent the spread of the disease." Since December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says almost eight million cases of bird flu have been found in 13 states, with more than seven million having been confirmed this month. This is the second outbreak in Iowa, CNN reports; the first happened at a turkey facility in Buena Vista County.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.